Louis McCartney chats with THR at the opening night of 'Stranger Things: The First Shadow' and reveals how much influence he took from the Netflix series 'Stranger Things' and how much he crafted on his own. Plus, he talks connecting with Jamie Campbell Bower and shares what he hopes happens to Henry Creel in season five.
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00:00Congratulations, it's opening night.
00:02There's so many things that I want to ask you,
00:04but I know Jamie Campbell Bower played this role
00:07in the television series.
00:09How much influence did you take from the show
00:10versus you originated the show on the West End,
00:13so how much of it did you kind of craft on your own?
00:15Yeah, it's been such a journey.
00:18You know, when I auditioned, I had this character brief,
00:21and it was about this tormented kid
00:23living in the shadow of the boy he once was.
00:26You know, he's fiercely loyal,
00:27he wants connection more than anything,
00:30and when I found out it was Henry Creel,
00:32it sort of all made sense.
00:33You know, when you look at Jamie
00:35and then young Henry in our play,
00:38you sort of have to, like, be a detective
00:40and cross the dots,
00:42and he was just this bridge
00:44that I was able to just walk across
00:46because he did the work.
00:48He is so interesting in the TV show,
00:50and we've talked about the character.
00:52He came to see London,
00:54and we had a lovely conversation,
00:56and it's been great,
00:58and it still grows every day.
01:00He's just been the kindest, sweetest person,
01:03actor, friend in kind of taking me
01:05into the Stranger Things family
01:06and showing me the way
01:08and just giving me the thumbs up
01:10and being like, you're doing great.
01:11You know, keep going, keep building.
01:13This show is also,
01:15the special effects are insane.
01:16It's a very physically demanding,
01:18technically demanding show.
01:19What was the biggest challenge for you
01:21in terms of staging some of these scenes?
01:23Oh, yeah, the time,
01:27because everything changes with our play.
01:31Stranger Things is so human and visceral
01:34that you want to honor that, you know?
01:37So when you bring tech into something,
01:39the tech sort of needs to have limbs
01:42and a heart and arms as well,
01:44because if we just throw smoke at you
01:46and say it's Stranger Things,
01:48it doesn't make sense.
01:49It needs to be grounded to something heartbreaking
01:52or funny or exciting, you know?
01:55Like our opening sequence is thrilling
01:58because of the great team that we have
01:59that works with it.
02:01You know, we make a ship disappear
02:02and reappear on stage,
02:04but the guys who are in that Upside Down
02:06are fighting for their lives
02:08and they're like, what is going on?
02:10That's the most important aspect, you know?
02:11It's, you gotta work on that.
02:13But yeah, I think it's just been realizing that,
02:16working on that and giving it the time it deserves,
02:20but also remembering to keep grounded
02:22and remember the beautiful storyline
02:23we're trying to tell.
02:25And having been in this role now for over a year,
02:28I know you're invested in this character,
02:30so what do you hope happens
02:32with Henry Creel slash Vecna
02:34in season five of Stranger Things?
02:36How do you hope this story wraps up?
02:37Great question. I know what happens.
02:39Oh, okay, tea, spill it, spill it.
02:42Never, sadly not, but I guess not.
02:46But for Henry Creel,
02:49I hope he just doesn't make the wrong choice, you know?
02:53It seems that every single choice he makes,
02:55his morals are so skewed because of his conditioning,
02:57because of his mom,
02:58and because of the way he's been brought up
03:02to think, to fit in.
03:03And when you have power like that,
03:05you want to change everybody else
03:07because you think you're perfect.
03:08And I just hope everything works out for him,
03:10but it's Stranger Things, and it will not.
03:13So, we don't know.
03:15You never know.
03:16We don't know.
03:16Amazing. Well, congratulations again,
03:18and break a leg tonight.
03:19Nice meeting you.