SPOILER ALERT: This post spoils Volume 1 of Stranger Things Season 5 – the entire first four episodes.
Father and daughter duo Jim Hopper (David Harbour) and Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) are back in action in the fifth and final season of Stranger Things.
Following behind-the-scenes rumors of tension between the costars with a reported harassment and bullying complaint filed against Harbour by Brown, the actress reflected on her working relationship with Harbour given that most of her scenes in the first four episodes of Stranger Things Season 5 Volume 1 take place with him in The Upside Down.
“David and I have a great relationship. We work really closely together in the scenes and in preparing for the scenes. I really am excited for everyone to see the labor of love and hard work we’ve put into the closure of our relationship and what that looks like and to give some of the fans,” she told Deadline. “Especially the Hopper and Eleven fans. Those scenes that I feel, I think, are going to be quite impactful. I love it. It makes me want to bring my A game every single time I see that I’m on the call sheet working with him because I know he’s bringing it right back.”
Brown affirmed that she felt safe going to emotional depths with Harbour when Eleven is compromised by what they call “kryptonite” or the satellite technology that paralyzes her and renders her powers useless.
“Of course, I felt safe. We’ve worked together for 10 years. I feel safe with everyone on that set. Naturally [we]’ve been doing it for so long,” she said. “We also play father and daughter, so naturally you have a closer bond than the rest because we have had some really intense scenes together, especially in Season 2.”
Season 2 watched the start of Hopper and El’s relationship when he took her in after she disappeared saving the four boys from a Demogorgon in the Season 1 finale. At one point, Eleven compared Hop to Dr. Brenner, who she calls Papa, because he wouldn’t let her leave his cabin, and the scene is known to be a heated one.
“It’s definitely sometimes a wake up call because it’s a year-long filming, so every scene you go, ‘Okay, am I gonna give it 150% today? Because I have this huge scene tomorrow.’ And you have to be honest with yourself,” Brown said. “I would have been exhausted. It’s very taxing. So you really have to choose the moments that you are going to lock in and the moments that you go, ‘Okay. This is more emotional today. This is more expositional today.’ You have to map it out, and I do physically. I highlight my pages by color, with emotion, and also weekdays and that helps me plan out what my week looks like and what kind of emotions I have to harness.”
In addition to mentally emotional scenes, Brown also has some very involved stunts because Eleven has leveled up her powers.
“I love stunts. I love that element of El. I can’t lie. It taught me a lot about stamina. It just helped me train entirely with stamina. Doing that for 13 hours a day outside when it’s cold, your body doesn’t know it’s acting,” she said. “Your body does physically think it’s being thrown in the air. Your body does think it’s going through something traumatic. So it’s it’s kind of connecting your mind, body and spirit, and really locking in to that.”
Millie Bobby Brown and David Harbour at the “Stranger Things” Season 5 World Premiere held at the TCL Chinese Theatre on November 06, 2025 in Los Angeles, California.
Michael Buckner/Variety
“I can be thrown in the air, [but] if my face isn’t doing the thing I need it to, then it doesn’t work. But then also ‘Okay, you throw your left hand behind the wire. You’re entirely twisted in the whole take is off,” Brown continued. “It’s like riding a horse. The horse knows exactly what the human is doing on top of the horse, they can feel every single limb. So you have to lock in to yourself and stay in tune with yourself. And that, I have never done more in my work, so this season, I think I’ve threw myself into that quite heavily.”
