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Oh shit,thisguy again?
Except today is different.
Its 1979, the morning beforethe massacre at Hawkins Lab.
But wait, flash forward.
Hes been alive this entire time?
Modine wouldnt mind a bit of redemption, either.
Brenner, a lot of people would argue, is the most diabolical character in the shows history.
You answered my next question.I believe that 100 percent.
The way I chose to portray him was as somebody who believed what he was doing had some benefit.
How could he not love the children?
There was going to be a big return for him in the second season.
Then season three was quite a departure.
I mean, they were in a mall.
There was nothing about season three that really shouted Hawkins.
That was a journey outward to get to the place where Eleven would lose her powers.
Even in season one, I was on a week-to-week discovery of who Brenner was.
They never presented him to me as a diabolical character.
What is the characters education?
What is his motivation?
What does he do?
Is he working for the government?
Is he working for the military?
You still dont know who Dr. Brenner was working for or what his motivations are.
What background did you create for him?Those are secrets actors should never reveal.
I want to be able to look at it and experience it.
I suppose I learned that from Stanley Kubrick.
You dont have to explain your creation.
Let it speak for itself.
Id like to explore Brenners logic, which takes up most of the action in Papa.
Everything I did I did for you.
If you provide them with everything, theyll complain about having been provided with everything.
If they grow up without opportunity, they complain about their parents not being able to provide for them.
Its a process young people have to go through.
Its a trope; its a genre.
Like Dorothy when she leaves her home and travels away.
The power was always within her; all she had to do was click her shoes.
Or Joseph Campbell saying the force was always within us.
It sometimes takes a person like Dr. Brenner to extract those abilities and knowledge.
Maybe thats what season five is going to be about Eleven realizing she never, ever needed Dr. Brenner.
Love is more powerful than hate.
Eleven calls Brenner a monster a pretty big blow given that Vecna is still around and terrorizing people.
In your eyes, is he worthy of empathy?Theres something called a flea in the jar experiment.
If you put a flea in nature, the flea can jump seven feet.
This is a good metaphor for Dr. Brenner and the children.
This is what I would define as mental slavery, and its an unforgivable crime.
These scenes you share with Millie Bobby Brown are emotionally fraught and at the core ofStranger Thingslore.
The thing about children is the best thing to do is leave them alone.
Its all a very real world.
So the best thing to do with a young actor is to allow them to be.
What you want to avoid is gimmicks and tricks the parents can impose on them.
The good thing is that Millies parents and family understood that.
These were all conversations I was having with a young child.
We would begin by saying, I love you.
It was a way to connect with one another and lift each others game.
By season four, using the tennis metaphor again, I was playing with Serena Williams.
I was playing with an expert at her craft.
Id turn away again, and all of a sudden she looked like Natalie Wood.
Theres something old Hollywood about her.
I was taking photographs of all of us goofing around behind the scenes.
The children didnt have any dialogue and were just supposed to stand there.
And yet they would respond, Good morning, Papa.
The editors could have easily cut off those pieces and gone without it, but they used it.
It reemphasizes Dr. Brenners love for the children.
Brenners death seemed pretty conclusive to me, but Ive learned not to assume anything aboutStranger Things.
Would you say hes dead?No, I wouldnt.
Because I wouldntwanthim to be dead.
Three things are curious to me: How did he survive the Demogorgon?
How did he survive One?
She couldnt get it to work on him.
Is there something more to Brenner than meets the eye?
I could be led to believe he possesses some sort of superhuman ability.Yeah.
I dont want to believe its over, because I love the Duffers.
I dont want to believe its over, because I cant wait to work with Millie again.
I love the power of redemption.
I love thewhatit represents.
The law of Abraham was to stone this person to death.
And Jesus comes along and says, Those among you that are without sin, cast the first stone.
This idea of forgiveness is so powerful.
Grace is the ability to forgive.
Obviously, the only children he tortured who are alive, that we know of, are Eleven andKali.
I guess Vecna, if theres any saving One.
It would be that moment of them forgiving Brenner and giving him their grace.
Im reminded of the filmFull Metal Jacket,when my character, Joker, pulls the trigger.
Shes just been shot by some of the other Marines.
He says, We cant leave her here.
And the other guys say, If you want to kill her, go ahead.
Joker is faced with this existential decision.
What is he going to do?
He makes a decision to end her life.
Thats the horror of war.
Do you think Donald Trump is able to sleep at night with a clear conscience?
Well, maybe he is.
Thats a bad example.
Thats the real nightmare not being able to escape your thoughts and the things youve seen or done.
Try me.Hickory Dickory Dock.
All right, thats silly.Ill go with something more ominous.
Sympathy for the Devil.
I love the Rolling Stones.
