We’re on the final stretch of our Stranger Things marathon (nth time to rewatch the whole series, actually) in preparation for Volume 2 of Season 4. For the nth time, I commented what a wonderful actor Jamie Campbell Bower is as Henry Creel / One / Vecna.
We know his name now, the actor’s. When we first saw him in Season 4, we referred to him as Anthony. He was Anthony on Sweeney Todd and I recognized him at once on Stranger Things. While he wasn’t required to do a lot as Anthony, his performance on Stranger Things is simply magnificent.
He reminds me a little of Eddie Redmayne. Neither possess the stereotypical good looks by which most people judge screen actors, but when they are performing, they command your total attention. Consummate artists.
I thought Les Miserables, the movie, was terrible as a whole. But Eddie Redmayne’s rendition of Empty Chairs at Empty Tables was the most haunting and the most melancholic I have ever heard — and I have listened to so many theater actors sing that song. Listening to Eddie Redmayne sing it gave me goosebumps. Very, very, very few musical performances have that effect on me. It’s the movie’s biggest saving grace, in my opinion.
Watching Jamie Campbell Bower on Stranger Things had the same effect on me. In that scene when he finally revealed himself to Eleven (a memory), his performance was just so compelling. Powerful. Riveting. He dominated the scene — and the screen — with that voice, those eyes and that facial expression. He totally upstaged Millie Bobby Brown who is a competent actress herself.
In about ten hours, the last two episodes of Season 4 will begin streaming on Netflix. I hope the Duffer Brothers have not killed off Steve Harrington. Perhaps, we’ll just have pizza delivered so I won’t have to cook, and I can just enjoy Stranger Things.
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