Stranger Things: Sadie Sink almost didn’t get the part of Max Mayfield

Imagine Stranger Things without Sadie Sink. It feels weird, doesn’t it? I remember when Max Mayfield first joined the series back in season 2, and we weren’t sure how this new character would play with fans. Any doubts we had went out the door quickly as Sink seamlessly settled in with the rest of the cast.

Since then, she’s become an integral part of Stranger Things. In fact, much of the fourth season was centered around Max. If people didn’t know her before, they definitely did after escaped Vecna’s clutches to the tune of Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill.”

Sink recently spoke to Fashion Magazine about how the role of Max Mayfield almost didn’t happen. It took a lot of convincing and cajoling, but things eventually worked out thank goodness!

Sadie Sink “begged and pleaded” for more material on Stranger Things

Sink was only 14 years old when she got the role of Max. And apparently, that wasn’t what they were looking for. “I just begged and pleaded with them to give me more material so I could show them something fresh,” Sink said. At 14, she was considered too old for the role. But her hard work and dedication paid off as she was cast pretty quickly after doing a chemistry read with Gaten Matarazzo (Dustin) and Caleb McLaughlin (Lucas).

Things have never been the same for Sink ever since then. Nearly six years later, at 20, Sink is looking back. “It’s such a weird and specific situation that the Stranger Things cast and I are all in because the world knows who our characters are, but we’re still trying to figure out who we are as people,” she said. “I think being in the industry accelerates you, and you mature faster. But for the most part, it’s just so fun because the cast is all going through it together. Honestly, my life has felt a bit like a coming-of-age movie.”

Child actors never have it easy when they get famous quickly like Sink and her fellow cast members. It’s a difficult road to tread, but Sink is taking it all in with grace. The future is bright for her, and we can’t wait to see what is in store for Max when Stranger Things returns for its fifth and final season.

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h/t Deadline