the puppy interview.
stranger things cast | 16.

❥

Theadora sits excitedly between co-stars sadie and caleb in front of a purple backdrop. a producer off screen signals when the cameras begin rolling and thea introduces herself. "hi, i'm theadora james and i play betty wheeler."

on the younger girls left, sadie waves to the camera. "hey, i'm sadie sink, i play max."

"and i'm caleb mclaughlin and i play lucas sinclair." caleb finishes, looking towards the girls before the introduce the interview all together. "we're the cast of stranger things, and we're here with buzzfeed to play with some puppies and answer your fan questions!"

a crew member begins handing out puppies from just off to the side of the set and theadora gasps excitedly, holding her arms out to catch a puppy. sadie exclaims equal excitement, talking to an approaching dog in a slightly high-pitched voice.

thea is so distracted she almost misses the first question. "after almost six years, how does it feel having the series come to an end soon?"

"crazy." theadora lets out a small laugh, in slight disbelief of the shows ending. "we all grew up on this show, so it's so weird to be saying goodbye."

"it's so sad." caleb answers, dodging a puppy trying to lick his face. sadie nods in agreement. "yeah, it's bittersweet."

"oh, that ones peeing in the corner." thea giggles, pointing to a puppy squatting off to the side. a crew member curses, pausing to wipe up the urine before moving onto the second question. "if you could play any other character on Stranger Things, who would it be?"

"i'd say erica, probably." theadora leans forward, pettint the nearest puppy. "or max. i love all of their one liners."

"awe, thanks." sadie smiles. "betty has a lot of really good lines, too. i think she would be really fun, or robin maybe."

"i love hopper's character development." cale. answers. "you know what it is, i love david as an actor so much."

the producer nods, calling out the next question. "what's a role people would be surprised to hear you auditioned for?"

"oh, i auditioned to be in matilda on broadway." sadie chuckles. "it was a bold move because i am not a dancer."

theadora grins. "i auditioned for annie on broadway! also a bold move 'cause i am not a singer."

if you had to create an '80s mixtape, which songs would you add?

"running up that hill by kate bush." sadie answers quickly and theadora nods. "oh yeah, kate bush for sure."

caleb adds, "talking in your sleep by, i think, the romantics."

if you could guest star on any series what would it be?

"sex education on netflix." sadie answers first and thea pauses, thinking thoughtfully. "probably either love is blind or the ultimatum on netflix."

sadie laughs in slight surprise. "as a contestant?"

"i would wanna be the judge, like the couple that rules over it all." thea explains. "just to be in the drama of it all."

"i'd say euphoria." caleb decides. "the visuals, the cinematography...i just wanna look beautiful in that."

theadora hums, wishing she had thought of that response. "ohhh i love euphoria."

sadie parrots caleb teasingly. "i just wanna look beautiful."

"well, like—who doesn't, you know?" caleb shrugs, unfazed. the producer off screen laughs lightly before asking the next question. "if any actor could have a cameo on Stranger Things who would you want it to be?"

"some kind of huge eighties actor. i think that would be cool."

"danny devito." theadora deadpans with a straight face. she catches the producers smirk before he asks the next question, "what's the hardest stunt you've ever had to film?"

"my hardest stunt was actually my favorite one, surprisingly." theadora admits. "its in season four, so i don't want to spoil too much, but i was in a harness and it was really difficult but super fun."

"who have you been the most starstruck by?"

"when i was like twelve i met bernadette peters." sadie recalls. "that was the biggest moment of my life."

"billie eilish, when i was interviewing at the met gala in 2022. i was such a huge fan, i almost passed out." thea speaks without looking up from the puppy in her lap. "and now we're super close and talk all the time. actually, i still get starstuck by her."

"what are your wildest fan stories?" the producer asks next and sadie immediately gestures to thea. "oh, you've got some wild ones."

thea smirks "when i was, like, twelve, some lady tried to get me to sign her, uh, chest."

"what?" caleb asks in shock. "for real?"

"deadass." thea nods. "at one of our comic cons."

"....did you?"

theadora shakes her head, picking up the nearest puppy as hers walks away. "no, joe and charlie were right next to me and they shut that down pretty quick."

"do you remember your first audition for your role?"

"i do remember my audition for betty." thea nods. "not so much the lines, but i remember that at one point they thought i was too young, because the character was meant to be mikes twin and i was nine or ten while she was supposed to be twelve. but i was like, 'no, just give me more material, i wanna go in again.' and luckily they did." she shares. "i had the the initial audition, and then like four callbacks, and then there was a chemistry read and then i got the part."

"do you have a favorite behind-the-scenes moment?"

"jeez, i don't know. honestly i think my favorite moment behind the scenes was just being behind the scenes. i had so much fun just sitting around and talking with everybody in between takes."

"where do you think your characters would be in 2022?"

"probably just like really..." sadie answers as the camera dramatically zooms in on her face. "messed up."

"i feel like lucas would be, like, a sergeant or something."

thea shrugs. "i always say that betty will either end up running a company or a prison gang." sadie and caleb laugh before the producer signals to close out the interview.

together, they chime, "thank you so much buzzfeed!"

"make sure you watch stranger things season four—" caleb starts and theadora adds, "on may twenty seventh."

"only on netflix!" sadie finishes.