If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy.

Stranger Things' Jamie Campbell Bower wanted to take a break from playing villains after Vecna

At MegaCon, Jamie Campbell Bower opened up about talking to his therapist after playing Vecna on Stranger Things season 4

Stranger Things season four Vecna screenshot
Image credit: Netflix

Vecna was one of the most memorable villains on Stranger Things thus far, named after the iconic Dungeons and Dragons foe. And the experience of playing the character left actor Jamie Campbell Bower with a desire to not play another villain for some time. At MegaCon in Orlando, People reported that Bower opened up about the toll that playing Vecna had on him, which he discussed with his therapist.

"We were going through some stuff, and he was like, 'We really need to make sure that you carve out time for you whenever you're working next.' I turned around to him, and I was like, 'Yeah, to be honest with you, man, I just don't think I'll be doing another bad guy for a minute'... Like it f**ks me up. I'm dead serious," Bower said. 

Bower was still grateful to have had the opportunity to play Vecna though. The actor said, "It's been amazing, and it's been an incredible journey, to join the show from season 4, to be part of something that so many people love and something I loved as well and still love. But I definitely am ready to hang up the foam latex and wish [Vecna] a slippery farewell." 

It's understandable that Bower wouldn't be keen to play another practical effects-heavy villain any time soon. We can only imagine the amount of time he would have to spend with the makeup team to transform into Vecna, and then to take all of it off after a long day of shooting. That's a lot of time to spend within a character, and considering how nasty Vecna is, we get where Bower is coming from with his decision to take a break from villain characters. 


Jules Chin Greene

Jules Chin Greene: Jules Chin Greene is a journalist and Jack Kirby enthusiast. He has written about comics, video games, movies, and television for sites such as Nerdist, AIPT, Multiverse of Color, and Screen Rant.

Comments

Want to join the discussion? Please activate your account first.
Visit Reedpop ID if you need to resend the confirmation email.

View Comments (0)

Find out how we conduct our review by reading our review policy