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Actors have had to put themselves through a lot in order to bring their Stranger Things characters to life. The acclaimed and beloved Netflix show, which was created by The Duffer Brothers, sort of demands it. But the type of dedication the cast puts into the show has impacted some of its greatest moments. This is true for the unnerving dedication Jamie Campbell Bower put into his Season Four villain as well as what Joseph Quinn had to do to breathe life into Eddie Munson.
Pulling off his character took time and effort. And the things he had to sacrifice are things many of us would be miserable to lose...
How Joseph Quinn Really Feels About Joining The Cast Of Stranger Things
Joseph Quinn had certainly done some work before getting cast as Eddie Munson in Stranger Things Season Four. He had even done an episode of Game Of Thrones. But the South Londoner wasn't famous in America. Of course, this has since changed. Much like how the current fourth season made Grade Van Dien (AKA Chrissy) a star on social media, Joseph's life has already changed.
"I had no expectations [of success] because expectations get you in trouble," Joseph said during a recent interview with Vulture. "I had a hope that I wouldn’t be chased out of town. Clearly, something is working with this Stranger Things model. People really love the show, and when you join something with this level of devotion, you’re mindful of not trying to bring the whole thing to a crash. I’m relieved, really. That’s the main feeling. And very grateful for people’s responses and how welcoming they have been to Eddie. I’m glad I didn’t ruin the show. That’s encouraging.
"My exposure to social media has been minimal. I don’t have TikTok; I have an Instagram account managed by a friend," Joseph continued. "But I have friends sending me little videos constantly. I find that sweet and funny, but I don’t know what to say about it. Clearly, Eddie has touched some people. It’s funny that people would take time out of their day to make videos like that. When I think of characters from film and television I loved growing up, it’s like people feel that way about Eddie. It’s mad."
How Joseph Quinn Was Cast As Eddie Munson
Unlike Jamie Campbell Bower's extremely secretive audition for the fourth season of the Netflix show, Joseph claims that his audition process was "straightforward".
"Back home in London, I sent two tapes to the Duffer brothers. I sent one, they asked for another, and then they offered me the part. It was disarming. I had never worked in America before, and my friends and colleagues would talk about these grueling, gladiatorial auditions. Going back to expectations, I expected nothing from those tapes. I sent them off and they gave me the part. I don’t understand why but I’m very glad they did.
When he was called in to audition, Joseph was asked to perform his cafeteria monologue which introduces his character in the first episode of the first part of Season Four.
"I actually auditioned with that scene back in November 2019, and we filmed it in June 2021. Can you imagine that wait? It was a long time to have those words in my brain. I remember reading it and thinking it was a powerfully written entrance."
What Joseph Quinn Sacrificed To Play Eddie Munson
One of the aspects of the monologue, and his performance in general, that Joseph was worried about was sounding like an American teenager. He was nearing the end of his 20s when he auditioned and the man is from South London. In order to pull it off, he had to make a few brutal sacrifices.
"He’s significantly younger than me and significantly not from south London. My vocal coach is incredible and would do a lot of Zoom sessions with me throughout the filming process. Whenever I was resting on my laurels or even felt like I nailed it, I’d still go back and see her. Self-doubt can be useful sometimes. To make me look younger, I fasted and didn’t eat carbohydrates and drink black coffee and was f***ing miserable about it. Eddie needed to be sinewy. You feel different when you’re ten kilograms lighter. But you don’t want to be messing with your food habits for that long. It’s good in the short term, but after doing it for ages, I started to get a little grumpy."
How Joseph Quinn Made Eddie Munson Likable
During an interview with Netflix, the Duffer Brothers admitted that they hired Joseph for the role of Eddie Munson because he didn't make the character too menacing. Other actors wanted the character to be scary, but that's not what Joseph wanted to do.
"Anyone that presents themselves as incredibly unapproachable and distant is acting that way as a defense mechanism, right? We all have periods in our lives where we’re protecting ourselves. In your adolescence, you’re doing that constantly. I don’t know what I was clued into where others weren’t. I saw what was there on the page and I tried to bring my intuition towards it. I got away with it!" Joseph said to Vulture. "He’s ostracized and nonconformist. With that comes a jealousy of other people who seem to be popular and have things happen easily for them. He’s anti-Establishment and a metalhead and doesn’t like the way the rules have been written, particularly because they don’t serve him. But there’s still something in him that wants to be accepted, like everyone during that age. In hindsight, a lot of people have brought up Judd Nelson in The Breakfast Club, but I just went with what made sense to me."