Stranger Things monster Jamie Campbell Bower has revealed his Scottish roots after he was named after a notorious Highland clan. The 33-year-old plays Vecna in the fourth series of the Netflix sci-fi horror which returned for two final episodes of the fourth series this weekend.
In the first volume streamed in May his character, Henry Creel was unmasked as first 001 and then Vecna – a killer from Upside Down who breaks victims’ bones and bursts their eyes. Londoner Jamie is proud of his Scottish roots – which, like Tilda Swinton’s, are rather grand.
His maternal great-great-great-great-grandfather was Sir John Campbell, of Airds. One of his middle names is Campbell.
He said: “When I applied for equity there was already a Jamie Bower so I had to throw a middle name in there. My mother decided it would be Campbell.
"It’s my clan. I’m from Scotland. That’s where I am. Celtic blood is in me.”
Jamie, who has been in Twilight and Fantastic Beasts, is the standout star in the fourth series. And he also made waves off-screen.
He said: “Some of the crew were terrified, particularly when we first started working. I was skulking round a corner and bumped into a crew member, and there was this scream from the side of the stage, and I chuckled to myself. That was fun!
“There were times where I felt bad for my fellow team members. So we’d make sure they knew that it was me inside there, a gentle touch of an arm or just to look in their eye to say, ‘It’s me by the way, it’s OK’.
The show’s fans have been consumed with anticipation but the wait will be worth it with two feature-length episodes of four hours’ viewing. It’s fair to say Vecna has helped this year’s Stranger Things become the most-watched English language TV series on Netflix in its first week, with 335million hours viewed.
READ MORE: TV REVIEW: Our world gets turned Upside Down with 'Stranger Things Season Four: Volume 1'
As volume one of series four ended, fans learned that the Upside Down and Vecna were the aftermath of a huge fight between the psychokinetic powers of Jamie’s pre-Vecna character, One, and Millie Bobby Brown’s Eleven. While the third series was a bit too Goonies for many, the fourth series – thanks to Vecna – has won praise from the likes of Stephen King.
The monster has already killed Chrissy Cunningham and Fred Benson in the gruesome way of twisting and breaking their limbs and burning out their eyes. He nearly got Max too – if it hadn’t been for her love of Kate Bush.
Actress Sadie Sink, claimed Jamie was “genuinely just horrifying”. Before Vecna goes on another rampage through Hawkins, let’s recap on what we know and look at what might come.
Stranger Things series four, volume 2 is streaming on Netflix now.
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