Jamie Campbell Bower delivered a horrifying portrayal of a villain through his Stranger Things character Vecna, but there were reportedly months of research that went into the role.
The 37-year-old actor and singer discussed his inspirations for the character in a new interview, and revealed that one of them is the classic Stephen King villain, Jack Torrance.
Jack Torrance, played by Jack Nicholson in The Shining portrayed the character’s slow descent into madness, brilliantly through his eyes, which Bower shared he was a fan of.
“The Kubrick-ian stare was obviously something I was very eager in utilising, even in season 4,” the Harry Potter star told Entertainment Weekly.
The Kubrick stare gets its name from Stanley Kubrick’s movies, who was the director behind the Stephen King movie adaptation.
The Twilight actor named the 2020 thriller Alone as another one of his inspirations for Vecna’s character, along with the 1957 musical film The Pied Piper of Hamelin.
Bower’s Vecna continued to keep viewers on the edges of their seats throughout the Duffer Brothers show, until the fifth and final season.
