As season 4 of Weird stuff proved it all, it’s that the show’s allure goes way beyond the 80s nostalgia. There are a lot of things for which this series has taken credit, such as the perfectly laid out soundtrack, the realistic visuals and the brilliantly textured storyline, but one thing in particular remains the primary focus of praise the show receives.
While the majority of the main characters in the show are children, one of the most notable features of Weird stuff is the cast. Even disregarding the actors who had significant fame before the series started (such as Winona Ryder), it has been consistently said that the actors’ performances really sell the story.
Of course, with so much focus on the performative excellence of the cast, especially the child actors, the casting director has often talked about the process of deciding who to cast. As you might imagine, the process of finding child actors who could handle the dark concepts of the series, but also deliver captivating and emotional performances, was an arduous task. Nevertheless, Emmy Award winner and nominee, Carmen Cuba, did it.
Cuba already had experience working with the Duffer brothers, which made it easy to make sure everyone was on the same page on the vision for the series. The casting process started with the adult characters because it was an easier process, and as a result, Winona was the first actor on board, which gave the show a big star in attracting an audience and giving the new actors room to play. to shine. After Hopper was released, the focus quickly shifted to the children’s characters. After seeing about 2,000 auditions, they selected a small group of slightly experienced actors and tested their chemistry as an ensemble. The rest is history.
From the very first season, what was supposed to be a small show exploded, proving that creators definitely did the most with their minimal resources. As the show’s success grew, so did the actors’ success in it. Seemingly the star of the found family story structure, Millie Bobby Brown’s career excelled almost immediately, and she started getting cast in several other shows and even movies. Brown wasn’t the only one of the cast to climb the industry ladder, as nearly all of the actors from Weird stuff soon moved on to doing more, bigger projects.
In addition to the extra work that came with the success of the cast, they also received multiple awards and nominations. In total, the series has received 219 award nominations and won 63. Several acting-oriented awards have been given to the series in several substantial award events such as the Emmys and the Screen Actors Guild Award show. While many fans felt that almost all of the primary children’s characters from season four deserved major nominations, mostly the same major actors received such nominations. That said, nearly half of the young actors received performance-based award nominations in some way.
Based on the growing number of nominations and wins that the actors have received for this series, it is clear that the cast of Weird stuff are an essential part of the show’s success. Some fans even claim that the actors who play the characters are the driving force behind the series. After all, it’s their incredibly emotionally matched performances that allow the audience to connect with the characters and feel a genuine heartbreak when something bad happens to them. While the concept of the story is big and unique, it would be hard to describe Weird stuff as a purely plot-driven story, because the characters put so much heart into the show. It really seems to have struck a balance between the plot and the characters that determine the direction of the story.
If the growing number of nominations and praise from critics and fans alike aren’t enough to showcase the cast’s significant contributions to the show, the raw, emotional, improvised moments are. There are several instances from across the show that weren’t written, planned, or directed. An early example is El’s grocery store scene in season one, in which Brown decided to get much more than one Eggo box from the grocery store freezer—a scene that’s now an iconic staple of El’s Eggo-loving character trait.
There are many examples of unscripted moments in each season, where the actors took the liberty of doing their job and showed their understanding of their characters by improvising small actions or lines. However, it was the impromptu moments from season four that most impressed fans and really showed the talent in this series. In fact, some of the season’s most popular, impactful lines were improvised. Fan favorites included Joyce and Hopper’s steamy kiss in Russian prison, Lucas’ plea for his sister’s help when Max nearly died, and Eddie’s heartbreaking “I love you, man” line to Dustin as he bids his final goodbye.
It’s impressive enough for each of these gut-punch moments to have lured viewers in and connected them to the characters and story as much as they did. For fans to then learn that many of these moments were created by sheer instinct created an extra layer of emotion and skill around them.
Sure, the actors in Weird stuff have added an irreplaceable element of quality to an already fantastic idea. It will no doubt be sad for fans of the show to have to say goodbye to the characters at the end of the series, but it will be worth watching them continue creating other phenomenal works. Beyond that, the Duffer brothers and Cuban have clearly proven their casting abilities and are likely to please fans again with their choices with any future. Weird stuff spin-offs. Regardless of what this team makes, viewers can probably count on it to feature a cast capable of delivering a moving, memorable and rewarding performance, just like in Weird stuff.
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