Vecna's big reveal was as epic asStrange thingsThe fans waited. In the last episode ofStrange thingsseason 4 volume 1,Vecna was revealedbe nothing less thanJamie Campbell BowerHenry Creel aka Uno. As it turns out, Vecna wasn't created solely through CGI. This villain was totally real, and Jamie turned into himStrange thingsMonster every time he needed to be on screen.hollywoodvidaspoke EXCLUSIVELY to the prosthetics makeup artistBarrie Gowerabout Jamie's incredible transformation.
“Normally when creating a character like this you would also have a Vecna cheat. You would have your actor who could do some headshots, a few roles here and there, and then you would have a double with the same physique who would do the rest of the role and do all the stunts. Jamie did absolutely everything," Barrie revealed. “He also did all the stunts.Everything you see Vecna in Stranger Thingsbecause it was totally Jamie. We shot with it for about 20 to 25 days. We did two makeup tests on him and applied makeup every day. It's a new set of devices every day. He is covered in prosthetics from head to toe. There are about 24 to 25 different gadgets that overlap. Everything is glued and glued to the skin with a medical grade glue. It's made of silicone rubber and we have other parts made of foam latex, which is also a lighter material."
Barrie's team includedduncan jarman,Mike Mekash,Eric Garcia, jnothing sir. They each time helped him complete Jamie's almost 7-hour transformation into Vecna. "I think the first makeup application we did on Jamie took 8 1/2 hours to apply Vecna from start to finish," admitted Barrie. “The more you apply makeup, the more you can reduce that time. Usually with fairly extensive prosthetic makeup, whether it's head and shoulders or whatever, you're going to do it day after day, day after day. It can be like a three or four hour application that you can customize and get a good hour of makeup time. But with Vecna, because it was long hours, we could start at 2 or 3 in the morning. in the morning, and when we've been shooting all day and done, it would be like an hour and a half teardown to take her makeup off at the end of the day. We might be ready at 10pm or 11pm. We usually shot day to day, so we didn't affect anyone's response time. The next day we could rest.”
He continued, "We were very fortunate to work with Jamie, who I think could have done a bit of prosthetic work earlier. It was a team of 5 members. That was us and Jamie. It worked so perfectly for us that we finally got the makeup application down to about 6 hours and 21 [minutes], I think. That was our record. We had a few hours off, but we got to the point where it was just this orchestrated dance that the four of us and Jamie did. You would start sitting down, you would put the cap on it, you would start putting the pieces on it, you would set it up, you would put a few more pieces on top. We had a massage table that we put him on so he lay on his back and then we turned him around so he was facing him, got him on his feet, flexed his legs and arms. It was a well-oiled dance where Jamie knew where to put his head, when to raise his arm, when to lie down, when to do this. We almost got to the point where we didn't even tell him what we needed to do next. We wrote this idiot's guide to where we needed to be at a given time so as not to waste time. We didn't miss a day and in the end we saved a bit of time.”
During the transformation process, Jamie devoted himself to penetrating Vecna's mindset. "We would hear certain types of music in the makeup trailer. We would start with a lot of Thrash Metal. We would have a lot of Heavy Metal, a lot of Death Metal. Maybe towards the end of the app it would clear up a bit. We would end up with something likeMarilyn Manson. We would have podcasts. We watched documentaries. I would watch horror movies. I would browse YouTube and watch sessions. We would see all sorts of supernatural things that would make us all characterful. But he was always very happy."
Barrie noted that Jamie never "complained once" when it came to the grueling makeup process. The apparatus used to make vecna — particularly the head and shoulders — weighed “about 15 to 18 pounds for that one piece alone. And then it's a full silicone breast, a full silicone back, foam rubber this and that and that. It's a lot of weight that I carried every day." Jamie used a mechanical left hand that "moved and articulated perfectly with Jamie's hand." Barrie's team worked with visual effects and Jamie to make sure everything looked perfect "We never had a complaint about him. He was an absolute hero," Barrie said.
The prosthetic makeup artist who has worked on shows likeGame of ThronesjChernobyl, admitted it was "much quicker" to remove the devices. However, it is "still a very long process" for everyone involved. "With all this material attached to the skin with a medical-grade adhesive, it can't be easily removed," Barrie pointed out. "It's not quiteLady. Doubt Firewhere you can pick it up. In the past, actors and stuntmen have attempted to remove their own prosthetic limbs. It can take the top layer of skin with it, so we need to gently remove everything with a mineral oil. It took the four of us almost an hour and a half to get Jamie out every night. But it was a very leisurely process at night. We had very upbeat music and we had sweets and snacks. We would enjoy ourselves if we knew that we have tomorrow off. It was always a very good process.”
In addition to Vecna, Barrie and members of his team also fabricated the prosthetics forby Robert EnglundVictor Creel, who has scarred eyes. Barrie admitted working with Robert was a "career highlight" because he's a huge Freddy Krueger fan. "We had him on the vanity chair for about two hours doing his makeup. He just gave us all these anecdotes and stories from theNightmare on Elm Streetseries and all these other makeup effects artists that he's worked with over the years," Barrie said.hollywoodvida. “He just had the most incredible stories. They say never meet your heroes, but that was amazing. We were constantly trying to get more and more stories out of him and he was a pleasure to work with."
Alongside Robert, Barrie has done some prosthetic workPuerto David, playing Hopper. “Hopper's season 4 arc obviously takes place in this Russian prison and David has lost a lot of pounds. He seemed a lot thinner for his Russian prison history, so to recall the Season 3 finale, Hopper's character was a lot rounder and had a lot more weight," Barrie said. "For those shots, which were a direct follow-up to the Season 3 finale "David is heavily made up. We covered his entire face to below his neck, rounding just his jawline and cheeks. We also had to pierce the beard on the device to make it look like it had a beard. He had a fake mustache. That was about a two and a half hour makeup process we did with him. In a way it was almost more stressful than doing Vecna because you had to hide the makeup on her face perfectly. You had nowhere to hide.
Barrie's next concert is the much-anticipated oneGame of ThronesprecursorDrachenhaus.Strange thingsSeason 4 Volume 1 is now available. Volume 2 will be released on Netflix on July 1st.
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FAQs
How many hours did Vecna makeup take? ›
The entire process of becoming Vecna was a workday in itself, with the prosthetics taking eight hours to apply, and a further two hours to remove after filming was completed.
Who is the actor in Vecna makeup? ›They found it in Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower), a terrifying creature crafted by prosthetics and makeup designer Barrie Gower, who also worked on the Night King for “Game of Thrones.” Here, he takes us through the making of the Upside Down's newest (and scariest) nightmare.
How long did it take Jamie Bower to become Vecna? ›Stranger Things' dreaded villain Vecna aka Henry aka 001 is played by an exceptional Jamie Campbell Bower, who went through an 8-hour transformation to mould into character.
Was Jamie Campbell Bower in Vecna makeup? ›Stranger Things: Jamie Campbell Bower Shared What He Likes To Do While Wearing The Vecna Makeup.
Does Vecna blind Max? ›Yes, despite Eleven managing to save her life at the last moment, Max was blinded by Vecna before she died for approximately one minute – as Lucas later explained.
Is Vecna 11's Dad? ›A new season 4 theory suggests 001/Henry Creel/Vecna is actually Eleven's real father – and it low-key makes sense.
Who did Vecna make cry? ›Seeing Stranger Things' Vecna Made Millie Bobby Brown Cry
“They brought her up into a position where she's bound,” Bower recalled to Variety. “I walked up to her [as Vecna] and she burst into tears.
We've all seen the extremely relatable behind-the-scenes shots of Jamie Campbell Bower sipping iced coffee in his Vecna makeup that Netflix dropped after we learned that the Stranger Things Season 4 baddie was created with an impressive combination of practical and CG effects.
Why did Vecna reveal his past to Nancy? ›"Vecna seems to be actually intrigued by Nancy being able to figure him out, to be able to get this close to the truth... I think this is more Vecna's narcissistic traits that pull him to Nancy, why he wants to give her this information."
How did Vecna go to the bathroom? ›Vecna isn't as terrifying in the bathroom. Actor Jamie Campbell Bower, who played the complicated villain in “Stranger Things 4,” revealed that his terrifying Freddy Krueger-esque full-body prosthetics included a “flap” for him to use the restroom without getting out of costume.
Did Jamie Campbell wear the Vecna costume? ›
Jamie Campbell Bower wore a costume and prosthetics to transform into Vecna in "Stranger Things." The actor said that his suit had a "flap" that went over his crotch. Bower said that a crew member guarded the bathroom while Bower was "hovering" over the urinal to pee.
Did the actors know who Vecna? ›Series co-creators Matt and Ross Duffer evidently had the mystery under wraps. Still, they trusted the actor portraying Vecna, Jamie Campbell Bower, enough to inform him of the role he plays from the very beginning.
Does Jamie actually play Vecna? ›Jamie Campbell Bower's performance as Vecna is so powerful and terrifying that even in real life, on-set, the actor actually made his co-stars afraid of him. In fact, per Netflix Life, Millie Bobby Brown cried the first time she saw Bower as Vecna.
Why is Vecna's hand so big? ›Vecna's Hand
This is a reference to the D&D character Vecna, for whom this Vecna is named; the D&D Vecna has a monstrous hand infused with dark magic. The design of Vecna's hand is also a nod to Freddy Krueger, the Nightmare on Elm Street villain who had a huge influence on this season in general.
When beings from the Upside Down like Vecna or the Mind Flayer take control over Stranger Things' characters, music and happy memories have the power to snap them out of it and bring them back to reality in a similar manner due to these psychological connections.
Why do Vecna's victims float? ›In the real world, the victim's body floats into the air, as Vecna snaps their bones and devours their innards, leaving them mutilated and looking like a shrivelled husk. He does this as all his attacks mimic his first telepathic kill, his own mother, back when he was a human child.
Will Max ever wake up? ›Just at the last moment, Eleven breaks free and manages to defeat Vecna, while Steve, Nancy and Robin simultaneously manage to badly wound his physical form. A now-blinded Max wakes up but seemingly dies in Lucas's arms.
What does Vecna do to eyes? ›Whenever victims become entranced or possessed by Vecna, their eyes form a milky glaze, until they meet their demise as Vecna plucks their eyeballs out.
Will Max go blind? ›Is Max alive at the end of Season 4? Physically, yes. Lucas tells his friends that Max is in a coma, and we see her wearing casts on her arms and legs. The Duffer brothers have also confirmed that at the end of Season 4, Max is alive yet "brain dead, blind, and all of her bones are broken."
Is Will In Love With Mike? ›In season four, a new aspect of Will emerged more fully; the teenager from Hawkins appeared to have a crush on his friend Mike Wheeler (Finn Wolfhard), and now Noah is confirming that Will is indeed gay and in love with Mike.
Did Eleven cry when she saw Vecna? ›
You know, the part where Eleven is crying and trying to get out of Vecna's tentacle clutches in the last episode of Season 4? Yeah, Bower says Brown was crying real tears during that scene. “She was terrified and freaked out.
What made Vecna start killing? ›Trauma fuels him
Vecna draws power from sad and angry memories and that is the main reason he targets traumatized teens. Those teens are a well of power just there to be absorbed. This is not just a theory, Vecna himself told Eleven about the power that angry and sad memories hold.
Vecna was born as a human, centuries ago as a member of the untouchable caste in the Flan city of Fleeth on Oerth. He was initially trained by his mother, Mazzel, in the art of magic, before she was executed by the government of Fleeth for practicing witchcraft.
Is Vecna a depression? ›The latest series of Stranger Things is another brilliant blend of horror, sci-fi fantasy and drama. But new villain Vecna is a reflection of something very real: post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and grief.
Why does Vecna have no nose? ›Snakes and their lack of a nose represent the evil seen in Vecna and Voldemort. From religious texts to Disney's The Jungle Book, snakes are often used to symbolize evil. In the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament, serpents represent power and chaos from the underworld, which is what Vecna is to the town of Hawkins.
Was Vecna a prosthetic? ›New Stranger Things baddie Vecna is an impressive specimen onscreen – but all that menace didn't come easily, with actor Jamie Campbell Bower forced to sit through seven long hours of make-up and prosthetics application before he got close to popping any teens' eyes with his mind.
Does Vecna pee? ›Vecna may be the scariest thing on two legs in the final season of Stranger Things, but inside that costume is still an actor who occasionally had to pee.
How do they know that Vecna is one? ›The final scene of Volume 1 shows a shot of Vecna, and a close up of the 001 tattoo on his arm, confirming that Henry Creel, a.k.a. Number One, became Vecna.
Why did Peter become Vecna? ›After previously having tricked Eleven into destroying the chip, Peter goes on a killing spree in the lab until a confrontation with Eleven ended in her casting him into the Upside Down - where after falling through various dimensions and sustaining various injuries, Peter was transformed into Vecna.
Why did Vecna choose Max? ›Of course, the real reason Max became Vecna's victim was because creators the Duffer brothers and producer/director Shawn Levy wanted to showcase Sink's talent and really allow her to get some meaty material to work with this season.
Why was Fred targeted by Vecna? ›
Unlike the reporters at the Hawkins Post, Fred treated Nancy with respect. Though Fred appeared to be bright and level-headed, he harbored extreme guilt for his role in the fatal 1985 car accident, and believed many people look at him as a "murderer." This guilt and mental unrest made him a target of Vecna.
Why does Vecna need 4 kills? ›Ultimately, it is revealed in Stranger Things season 4's finale that the reason why Vecna was killing Hawkins teenagers was to create a massive gate that merges the Right Side Up with the Upside Down - and he specifically needed four bodies to do so.
How does Vecna feed? ›Vecna lives in the Upside Down and preys on people's past traumas and guilt. The monster curses its victims, making them relive their trauma in progressively more gruesome ways until it violently kills them.
What did Vecna do to his parents? ›Instead he decided to “break free” by killing his mother and sister and framing his father for the murders. His horrible plan nearly worked, too. But while he grew stronger and more powerful with each kill, he was “still a child” and didn't know the limits of his powers.
How can Vecna be stopped? ›After learning how Victor Creel was able to evade death back in 1959, Robin and Nancy deduce that playing the victim's favorite song can help them escape the trance that Vecna places them in, with music and happy memories being the only way to keep Vecna's fatal curse at bay.
What did Vecna do to Chrissy? ›Joseph Quinn said that he was surprised Netflix let Chrissy's death in "Stranger Things" through. The actor, who plays Eddie Munson, called Vecna's manner of killing "horrible." Chrissy, and Vecna's other victims, die as their bodies are levitated into the air and their bones snap.
Was Vecna plan all along? ›What makes this theory all the more tantalizing is the reveal from Duffer Brothers that Vecna has been part of their plan all along. In an interview with Tudum (opens in new tab), Matt Duffer shared that exploring that character was part of their initial pitch for the show.
Why does Vecna look different? ›Vecna's burned, corpse-like look draws heavy inspiration from the iconic “Nightmare on Elm Street” slasher Freddy Kruger, with the films in general serving as a lodestar for the season.
Who was Vecna before he turned? ›A fearsome sentient creature aligned with the Upside Down, Vecna had humble origins as the human Henry Creel. After moving to a new home in Hawkins in March 1959, the young Henry discovered he had remarkable psychokinetic abilities and could alter the perception of others.
Is Vecna's voice edited? ›For Vecna's voice, Henighan says they took Campbell Bower's performance and manipulated his voice so that “the clarity, the strength and the power was there. …
Is Vecna the same actor as one? ›
Jamie Campbell Bower, the actor from Stranger Things 4 who — spoiler art — plays the murderous creature Vecna and its human counterpart Henry Creel, is also a musician.
How long did Vecna makeup take? ›The entire process of becoming Vecna was a workday in itself, with the prosthetics taking eight hours to apply, and a further two hours to remove after filming was completed.
Who is under the Vecna makeup? ›They found it in Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower), a terrifying creature crafted by prosthetics and makeup designer Barrie Gower, who also worked on the Night King for “Game of Thrones.” Here, he takes us through the making of the Upside Down's newest (and scariest) nightmare.
Who is inside Vecna? ›It's revealed that Vecna is actually Victor Creel's son, Henry. After realizing he has powers while feeling alone in his own home, Henry decides to attack his own family and kill them to test his power. Victor is framed for the murders at Creel House, while his son is taken away.
How much of Vecna is makeup? ›While you might be quick to assume that Vecna is mostly CGI, it's now been revealed that the villain is actually “90%” practical and makeup effects.
How long was Vecna in the upside down? ›Overall, Vecna has been in the Upside Down for seven years. In September 1979, Eleven freed Henry Creel/Number One from his metaphorical shackles and inadvertently allowed him to massacre everyone at Hawkins Lab, including all of Dr.
How long has 001 been Vecna? ›Henry Creel = Brenner's Assistant = 001 = Vecna
Then Eleven—who in this future moment discovers that she in fact does not have the blood of her siblings on her hands—defeats Henry Creel, sending him to the Upside Down where he gets blasted by lightening and burnt to a crisp and, thus, becomes Vecna. That was 1979.