Stranger Things: Jamie Campbell Bower defended for ‘method acting done right’ for Netflix role

Actor said he had to ‘dig’ within himself before filming anything

Stranger Things fans have defended Jamie Campbell Bower after he was criticised for method acting to prepare for his role on the show.

*Minor spoilers for Stranger Things season four below*

The Twilight saga actor appears in the latest season of Netflix’s sci-fi series as Henry, who transforms into the monster Vecna.

Discussing his process, Bower said that he’d had to “dig” within himself to channel that feeling of “resentment” that powered the creature.

“I wouldn’t speak to anybody outside of the Stranger Things world for at least four days before filming anything,” he told Variety.

“I would find myself doing some pretty wild stuff. If anyone saw me walking around the streets of Atlanta at 2 O’clock in the morning talking to myself, they would understand. I was just bringing up a lot of anger, particularly for Vecna.”

While actors such as Jared Leto and Jeremy Strong are known for their intense forms of method acting, many have argued that the idea is outdated and can negatively affect the cast and crew around them.

This led a number of viewers to criticise Bower for his comments, with one writing: “Are you really acting if you gotta do all this extra s*** to get ‘into’ the role?”

“As a professional actor, why couldn’t he just ACT like he walked around the streets at night, filled his place with weird post-it notes and became anti-social for a few days,” another tweeted. “That’s, um, what actors are supposed to be good at right? The acting part? Lol.”

Bower appears in the new series of ‘Stranger Things (Getty Images)

However, many fans defended Bower, pointing out that the actor’s version of method acting wasn’t hurting any of his co-stars.

“Guess I can add ‘actors getting into character by doing private exercises that sound really fun and don’t harm anyone else’ to the long list of things that make Twitter people really angry,” one commenter wrote.

“He did it right, no harassing costars or anything he [just] secluded himself,” another said.

One tweet read: “Why are you all hating on him? Yes he did method acting and i think he did a great job on the last episodes, but unlike other actors who are a******s, he did not harm anyone or he didn’t even need to be an a****** just to put him in the zone to act.”

“As long as you’re not an a** to others IE crew or cast, I don’t see a problem with deciding what level of immersion a particular character needs,” another fan said.

“Honestly this is an example of method acting done right; he’s not involving anybody else in his preparation negatively and/or against their consent, he’s just doing what he needs to do to deliver the best performance he can,” a fan said on Twitter.

In a recent interview withThe Independent, actor Will Poulter said that performers’ processes shouldn’t “infringe on other people’s”, adding that they should always be “considerate”.

“If your process creates an inhospitable environment, then to me you’ve lost sight of what’s important,” he said. “Method acting shouldn’t be used as an excuse for inappropriate behaviour – and it definitely has.”

Julia Roberts also recently said that there was “no way” she would ever take part in the practice.

“Are you kidding? It is too much. You have to put the bag down,” she said. “I mean, I admire people that do that. It looks exhausting to me and I secretly think, ‘Oh, I wish I could do that. I wish I could be that intense.’ I’m just kidding.”

Stranger Things is available to stream on Netflix now.