“Stranger Things” Star Sadie Sink on Show Spoilers, Style Inspirations, and College Plans

In Up Next, Teen Vogue talks to up-and-coming talent about their journey to fame and the influences that have informed their extraordinary work.

Name: Sadie Sink

Age: 17

Hometown: Brenham, Texas

Big break: Playing the title role in Annie on Broadway: “Being on that stage every night, I fell in love. I knew that this was the direction I wanted to go with my career.”

What’s new: Post–Stranger Things 3, she’s filming the upcoming movie trilogy adaptation of R.L. Stine’s Fear Street alongside Gillian Jacobs and Kiana Madeira. The film is set for a 2020 release.

Sadie Sink is well aware of how hard it is to not reveal spoilers for a show as buzzy and full of twists as Stranger Things. In the show’s third season, which dropped on July 4, Sadie returns as the quick-witted, street-smart Max Mayfield — and faces some of her most challenging obstacles yet.

“It was really hard not to say anything about Billy [in interviews],” Sadie tells Teen Vogue about Max’s step-brother Billy’s dramatic Mind Flayer possession. “Even now, just saying that right there, I still got nervous. I’m still not used to being able to talk about it openly.”

Luckily, it’s been a few weeks since Stranger Things 3 came into the world, and the statute of limitations on streaming spoilers is officially over. Now, Sadie can reflect on how far “Mad Max” has come from her season-two days of skateboarding around Hawkins, Indiana, with the gang. In the third edition, Max develops her friendship with Millie Bobby Brown’s Eleven while also enjoying the up-and-down emotions of her relationship with Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin). Oh, and fighting off the mysterious monsters from the Upside Down that continue to terrorize the town.

One of the third season’s biggest plot points revolves around Billy Hargrove, played by Dacre Montgomery, who is taken over by the Mind Flayer and forced to spread its insidious agenda. Max and Billy have had a tumultuous relationship since the beginning, with Billy often acting in violent and reckless ways around Max. Their relationship does evolve between the second and third season, however, and by the end of the third, Billy tries to make up for his behavior by sacrificing his life to save Eleven and the rest of Hawkins.

It’s a lot for a teenager about to head into high school in the show’s timeline to deal with. “That scene with [Max] and Billy at the end…obviously she’s just traumatized. But then it cuts to her three months later and she’s singing and happy with Lucas,” Sadie says. “I remember reading that scene and I was like, ‘What’s going on? Wait. Did she not…Did her brother not just die?’ ” But if a hypothetical Stranger Things 4 does happen, the quick shift works for her character’s personality.

“I think it makes sense for her, because that’s kind of as messed up as their relationship was,” she says. “[Billy’s death] still really affects the dynamic within her family. But in true Max fashion, she’s not going to let anyone see how she’s really feeling at some points. You see her just pretending that everything’s fine, when really, everything’s changed for her. She’s in a completely different emotional headspace.”

Of the many glorious Stranger Things friendships, one that particularly stands out in season three is the one between Max and Eleven. Max becomes a vital emotional support system for El, showing her Wonder Woman comics and helping her call out Mike (Finn Wolfhard) when he’s being a bad boyfriend. “Though Max may be corrupting her in some ways, I think the overall friendship between the two was what the show really needed,” Sadie says. And adding to their onscreen chemistry is the fact that Sadie and Millie are friends in real life — though Sadie admits it’s difficult to stay close amid their hectic schedules when they aren’t on set together.

“It is hard when we’re not filming, and we’re not seeing each other every day. It’s like school when you’re seeing the same people every single day, and then summer comes along and you don’t see them at all and it’s kind of sad,” Sadie says. “But what’s so great about the cast is that the next time I see everybody, we’re all going to pick up right where we left off and nothing’s ever weird.”

Max also helps El uncover her own sense of style, which seems like a pretty accurate real-life plot point for Sadie, who has upped her fashion game over the past few years. “The release of the show has opened up so many doors to new opportunities,” she says. She’s so far modeled in major campaigns for Miu Miu and Kate Spade, and walked the Paris Fashion Week runway for Uncover’s Fall 2018 show.

And much like Eleven’s transformation from iconic baby pink dress to Mike-inspired oversized flannel to colorful ’80s romper, Sadie says her “style is always evolving.”

“I go through so many different phases just like every teenage girl does,” she adds. “Right now I’m just in a very bright, summery mood. But yesterday I was wearing black jeans and a white crop top and, I don’t know, these weird Crocs. But I think that’s what’s so fun about fashion, that I don’t have to be defined by one particular style. It’s whatever I’m feeling that day.”

Though Max is just on the cusp of high school, Sadie is about to start her senior year. She’s previously talked about preparing for the SATs and ACTs, but is now thinking about not going to college immediately upon graduation. She’s currently filming Fear Street in Atlanta, and might have another season of Stranger Things ahead of her. Plus, she’s interested in continuing her work in fashion, and maybe eventually exploring directing or other aspects of filmmaking.

“As much as I’ve always dreamed of going to college, I have to think about whether it is the right decision for me,” Sadie says. “But everyone’s different and everyone can make that decision for themselves. College is right for some people, and it’s not for others. I shouldn’t rush into it just because that’s what everyone does after high school is you go to college.”

Sounds like a decision that would make the determined, independent Max proud.

Credits:

Photographer: Eric Chakeen (@ericchakeen)

Stylist: Michelle Li (@himichelleli)

Makeup: Quinn Murphy (@quinnmurphy)

Hair: Matthew Monzon (@matthewmonzon)

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Originally Appeared on Teen Vogue