‘Stranger Things 5’ Actor on Demogorgon Attack, Meeting Max

Nell Fisher, who turned 14 earlier this month, takes center stage as Holly Wheeler in the new (and final) season of “Stranger Things.” Through its first four seasons, the role of Holly — the younger sister of Mike (Finn Wolfhard) and Nancy Wheeler (Natalia Dyer), who’ve been central to the show’s story since Season 1 — was played by twins Anniston and Tinsley Price, who were 3 years old when “Stranger Things” premiered in July 2016. Fisher, meanwhile, was living in New Zealand with her family, going to school and beginning to act, scoring a key role in the 2023 horror reboot “Evil Dead Rise.”

From there, she auditioned to play Holly Wheeler in early 2023, and after getting the role, Fisher moved to Atlanta later that year to begin filming the final season of “Stranger Things.” And when the curtain rises on the Season 5 premiere, with its 18-month time jump, Holly plays a key role in the show’s endgame. As Volume 1 unfolds, Vecna reveals that Holly and the kids in her grade are somehow part of his evil plan to do … whatever it is he’s planning to do! As such, Vecna, appearing to Holly as the friendly, handsome and clean-cut Henry Creel — whom she calls Mr. Whatsit, inspired by her favorite book, “A Wrinkle in Time” — tries to warn Holly about monsters in Hawkins, Indiana, their town that’s under military quarantine. But since he’s the monster, Henry/Vecna sends a Demogorgon to kidnap Holly to take her to the Upside Down, successfully snatching her from her mom, Karen (Cara Buono), who puts up a valiant, doomed fight against the nearly indestructible monster.

Courtesy of Netflix

Once she’s taken, Holly thinks she’s hanging out with Henry (Jamie Campbell Bower) in the Creel house inside Vecna’s carefully constructed fantasy world, but in fact, her physical body is somewhere else entirely — a place where Vecna is controlling her. But it turns out she’s not alone: Max (Sadie Sink), who’s been in a coma since the events of the Season 4 finale (when she even died for a few minutes, becoming Vecna’s fourth victim), is there as well, and reveals herself to Holly at the end of Episode 3. After Holly’s initial shock wears off at the sight of Max, they join forces.

Fisher now lives in London again (where she was born), and with her parents, Toby and Laura, within earshot, she spoke with Variety over Zoom during a vacation on the Isle of Wight while on a recent school holiday.

I noticed from your Instagram that you seem to have lived in both New Zealand and in the U.K. — for my first question, where are you from?

I’m not quite sure how to answer this question! My mum is a Brit; my dad is a Kiwi. But my mum used to be a diplomat, and she was an ambassador to New Zealand. I lived in New Zealand for four years, which is where I started my acting. But it was quite a nice coincidence, because that’s where my dad’s from, and that’s where all his family are.

Nice! How did you start acting?

Well, it turns out that the way you break into the industry is by going to New Zealand in the middle of a pandemic! New Zealand was COVID-free, so all the Hollywood studios sent work over to New Zealand. So in 2020, I got a role in “Evil Dead Rise.” I had done this micro-budget film before, but never anything like where I was like, “Oh yeah, I might want to, like, really continue doing this.” It all kind of just snowballed from there.

I always have loved performing — like, any form of singing, dancing, acting. Yeah, it’s always been sort of a passion of mine. And my dad was an actor as well. He acted when he was around my age. He’s great; he helps me with all my auditions and stuff.

Courtesy of Netflix

When we interviewed Matt and Ross Duffer for our cover story, Matt said he’d noticed you in the trailer for “Evil Dead Rise” before casting director Carmen Cuba brought you in to audition. What do you remember from getting the audition?

So first I got a self-tape for it. And I was really excited — but I hadn’t actually watched “Stranger Things” beforehand. I had been lobbying to forever. But my mum claimed that it would be too scary for me [long pause] — for her. I was so excited that I got this audition, and I also saw it as my chance to watch “Stranger Things”! But, yeah, I started it and just, like, binged it. I mean, it’s such an incredible TV series.

Do you remember when that was?

That was — I want to say March 2023.

[Toby, Nell’s dad, says something.]

February 2023. 

And you were 10 or —? Maybe your dad remembers!

I had just turned 11, but we didn’t actually start filming until January 2024. And so the Duffers thought that they were getting a small, cute, little blonde girl. And I think by the time we had started filming, I had shot up like four inches or something.

How did you learn that you got the role?

I was in New Zealand, and I was filming “Bookworm,” which was a movie I did opposite Elijah Wood, and my dad comes up to me, and he says, “The Duffers want to call you.” And I’m like, OK, keep it together, keep it together. I jump on a Zoom call, and they just say that they wanted to offer me the job, and they were really looking forward to working with me. And they actually mentioned they had seen me in “Evil Dead,” which I thought was really cool. When I say I was speechless, I was speechless. I think I sat there with my mouth open for like a minute, and when I did speak, I was like, [long pause] “Thank you!”

What had been your audition scene?

The scene with Mike in the school corridor, which is actually one of my favorite scenes. I loved filming it with Finn. And my other scene was the scene where I’m talking to the Tiffany cassette tape? Originally in the script, it was a Barbie. I found that scene quite tricky, because I’m rambling and talking out loud.

Later in the audition process, I went to New York to do a chemistry read with Sadie, who I have most of my scenes with. I was, like, ridiculously nervous going in. I was, like, shaking. Then I met Sadie, and she put me instantly at ease, and we did the scene after I have just bumped into her in, I don’t even know how to put it —

Vecna’s mind space, or something?

Vecna’s mind space situation! It was so lovely meeting her. She’s such an incredible human being. And afterwards, she took me and my dad out for a really lovely lunch.

Matt and Ross said that because the Price twins — who’d played Holly Wheeler until you did — were young that there was no real sense of who Holly was, she was kind of a blank slate. How did you work with them to create the character of Holly?

At the start of the series, she’s very much the baby of the Wheeler family. But she’s also not quite ignorant, like her parents are: She has been on the periphery of the Upside Down. In Season 1, she saw the Demogorgon reaching through the wall, and in Season 3, she noticed the trees moving. This season, she really comes face to face with the Upside Down, and with the danger. She’s finding out who she is.

You posted such a nice tribute to Holly in June — have you met the Price twins?

Yeah, I did actually. We went to a trampoline park together. It was so lovely meeting them. I’m really glad to be able to take the role over from them.

Courtesy of Netflix

Matt and Ross said that before they met you, Holly was more shy. But that you’re so extroverted, and I’m quoting Ross now, they started “infusing Nell’s personality into Holly.” Did you know that was happening?

I didn’t, actually! This is the first time I’m hearing about that. But that makes sense. I did see a couple script changes, where I did see Holly getting a bit more like out there. 

Holly’s older siblings, Nancy and Mike, have been fearless throughout the whole series. What parts of Nancy and Mike did you want to use to create your character?

There’s this really lovely scene in Episode 1 where Mike is talking to Holly, and she’s crying, she’s upset. She has this imaginary friend, and she’s very scared. And Mike talks about how he likes to imagine himself as someone else — as Mike the Brave — whenever he gets scared or nervous. Holly really looks up to her big siblings, and she is sort of distant from them — but I think they are people she really admires.

When did you realize that it was going to be such a huge role?

Well, in the audition process, I had a Zoom call with Matt and Ross, and they did say that Holly was going to be a big character. But I don’t think I realized quite how big until I read the script. I was like, “This is awesome!”

[Her dad says something that sounds like, “They [inaudible] tell us she needed to spend a year in the U.S.” Nell laughs.]

They did tell you or didn’t tell you?

They didn’t.

So that was a surprise. What was it like joining the set of a show that’s in its fifth and final season? Were you scared?

It was definitely really daunting going in, because you’ve got these people who have worked together and known each other and been friends for almost 10 years now. Going in, I was really nervous, especially because Holly is a big character this season. I wasn’t sure how the others might receive me. But everyone was so welcoming, from the very first day. On my second day of filming, I was doing the breakfast scene with the Wheelers and the Byers, and every single one of them came up and said how lovely it was to meet me, and that they were really excited to see what I was doing this season. That just really put me at ease.

Who did you end up bonding with the most among the cast?

I think everyone, really. I mean, I spent lots of time with Sadie, and I really enjoyed that. I learned a lot from her, and she’s so lovely. I also spent a lot of time with Cara, who plays my mum, in the bathtub in the Demogorgon attack sequence. We really did develop a close mother-daughter relationship.

Let’s talk about that scene! What was that like to film?

It was my favorite part of the year! I say that, and I was also covered in goo, and dripping wet for most of it. But it was so much fun. I loved working with Cara. I love doing stunts — being up in a harness. I think it’s quite crazy. When I watched it, I was like, “That’s about two minutes — but we spent, like, two weeks on it.”

Cara and I, when we were in the bathtub, we would have this hand signal where we would, like, squeeze each other’s hand three times if we needed to come up for air. 

I was going to ask how you filmed that part. Because there’s no way of doing it, I think, without actually being underwater, right?

Yes, it was this bathtub. It was cheated, so it was slightly bigger — one side was glass. We just went underwater, and we spent three days turning to prunes in the bathtub. We had an unspoken — but I think still there! — competition about who could stay under for the longest. And I think it got pretty intense, which probably helped with the acting!

What was the competition?

The rules weren’t ever made very clear, but we would squeeze each other’s hands if we needed to come up for air and breathe. And as we progressed, the periods of time we stayed under just kept getting longer and longer, and it was clear that you didn’t want to be the person who came up first.

Sounds dangerous! Working with Jamie Campbell Bower in his Henry form, is it strange to think of how evil Vecna is?

I mean, yes, he’s such a brilliant guy. I went to Atlanta for a week in 2023, in December, when we were doing table reads and costume fittings, and meeting the rest of the cast. I was in the middle of a costume fitting, and there was a knock on the door, and my dad went and got it, and he came back in, and he said, “Jamie Campbell Bower wants to meet you, but he’s happy to wait till the end of a fitting.”

Jamie was done with his day; he was all ready to go home. But he ended up waiting half an hour, 40 minutes, just so he could meet me and introduce himself.

Had you heard of Tiffany or the song “I Think We’re Alone Now”? That was the soundtrack of my childhood, but I’m an ancient being!

Yeah, so I had heard it a couple times! My dad is quite into forcing his ’80s culture onto us. Which is a good thing most of the time! There’s a scene where I dance around the house, belting it at the top of my lungs. I had to freestyle the dance. I was, like, so nervous for it. But it was so much fun.

Max ends up connecting with Holly in Vecna’s fantasy world — whatever it’s called, which Holly compares to Camazotz in “A Wrinkle in Time.” Mike has Dungeons and Dragons; Holly seems to have “A Wrinkle in Time.”

Because she’s very new to this world, and it’s impossible to wrap your head around, she likens it to her favorite book, which is “A Wrinkle in Time.” And so Henry is “IT” or “I.T” — there was quite a big discussion while we were filming whether it would be, whether I should say “I.T” or “IT.” And his mind is Camazotz, and Sadie is Meg’s dad.

I’d read it before, but I reread it in preparation for the role. I really love it. It’s a great book

Are you in regular school?

Yeah, I’m in normal school, which I really like. I am a bit of a geek. I do really love my school. It was quite hard last year, keeping up with all the schoolwork. 2024 was incredible, but it was also like, tiring — a year away from my family. This year, I’ve just been going back to school, being a normal kid for a bit. But I’m really excited to see what kind of next year brings.

You’re going to get a million roles based on this. But do you know what you’re doing next, if anything? 

I’ve got nothing set in stone. But it only really means something to me now, because this is the first time I actually feel like I’m an actor. And I feel like I belong in this world, and I’m no longer just like a sort of lucky kid who stumbled across a film set. And I feel like I’m here to stay now. I’m still really looking forward to just continuing to tell more stories.

Did you like living in Atlanta, or were you happy to come home? Or both?

I mean, both! I loved living in Atlanta. We rented out a little house in Cabbage Town, which is where most of the other cast were. I developed this strange life and routine. My grandparents are coffee fanatics, and we’d walk 15 minutes to go to the best coffee place, and then we’d come back and go off to set. I developed this really lovely little life that — yeah, I kind of miss it!

This interview has been edited and condensed.