Stranger Things Producers Initially Thought Sadie Sink Was Too "Old" to Play Max

It's hard to imagine another actress playing Max in Stranger Things, but that's what almost happened.

As Sadie Sink tells it, the producers of the hit Netflix series weren't initially keen on casting her in the show for a specific reason: They thought that she was too "old" even though she was only 14, according to the actress' interview with Fashion.

"I just begged and pleaded with them to give me more material," she said, "so I could show them something fresh."

Of course, the producers relented and set up a chemistry read with Gaten Matarazzo and Caleb McLaughlin, which she aced. The next thing Sadie knew, she was starring in season two as the hardened new kid in Hawkins.

It's a surreal experience for Fear Street the star, who is still adjusting to life in the limelight. "It's such a weird and specific situation that the Strangers Things cast and I are all in," she explained, "because the world knows who our characters are but we're still trying to figure out who we are as people."

Stranger Things Kids Through the Years

"I think being in the industry accelerates you and you mature faster," Sadie continued. "But for the most part, it's just so fun because the cast is all going through it together."

Having co-stars who are in a similar situation is comforting for Sadie, whose time on Broadway as a young kid meant she missed out on certain childhood rites of passage. Specifically, the 20-year-old said, "I would've absolutely loved to have been in a school production with kids my age."

It was actually her love for the Disney franchise High School Musical that inspired her to pursue acting. Like, she really likes the films. "You just say the word," she joked, "and I can sing all the lyrics of ‘I Want It All' from the third movie."

Sadie's mother saw that she and her brother Mitchell enjoyed theater and put them into acting classes, which led to bigger opportunities, playing the title character in Annie on Broadway and later The Audience, with Helen Mirren. "That's when my relationship with acting changed," Sadie shared. "Working with some of the greatest minds in the industry taught me about what acting really is, and that's when I decided this was what I wanted to do."

And Sadie's proven that she's got the talent to help her succeed, with an upcoming role in Darren Aronofsky's The Whale. Not to forget season five of Stranger Things, of course.

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