5 Questions With Sadie Sink Ahead of ‘Stranger Things’ Season 3

TV Insider Staff July 1, 2019, 1:30 pm

Sadie Sink plays one of the coolest girls on TV, skateboarding Max Mayfield aka “Mad Max” in ’80s-era supernatural thriller Stranger Things, which returns to Netflix for Season 3 on July 4. The 17-year-old redhead (who has guest-starred on The Americans and Blue Bloods) joined the cast in Season 2 when Max’s family, including her bullying big brother, Billy (Dacre Montgomery), moved to Hawkins, Indiana.

The nerdy kids who’d defeated the monsters from a dark parallel world known as the Upside Down in Season 1 were smitten, especially Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin). When the beasts returned, Max helped save Hawkins once again but telekinetic Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) was threatened by the “new girl.”

We sat down for a chat with Sink on the set of Starcourt Mall, an actual mall outside of Atlanta that production designers have taken back to 1985 (hello, Sam Goody, Radio Shack and a movie marquee touting “Back to the Future.”).

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What’s different about Stranger Things in Season 3?

Sadie Sink: This season there are definitely a lot of threats, it’s hard to keep up honestly! It’s summer and that changes everything. And Max and Eleven become best friends.

Was it fun to have these two strong females join forces, considering Eleven was threatened by Max’s arrival last season?

Yes! The first two seasons revolved around the boys and their friendship. Max takes Eleven under her wing, and kind of introduces her to the real world, shopping, having fun. Eleven hasn’t really met a lot of girls before. Eleven needs more confidence in who she is, and sees Max has that.

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It’s finding that balance between admiring someone and certain traits about them but also being unique and becoming your own person. It’s interesting to see two girls share a friendship. We’re friends in real life. It’s not hard to do the scenes. It’s all natural.

But they both have boyfriends. Max is dating fun, outgoing Lucas, and Eleven is with brainy Mike (Finn Wolfhard). Where’s that going?

Yeah…Eleven and I are both girlfriends. (She wrinkles her nose and makes a face.)

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You’re 5-foot-3 but have walked the high fashion runway for Miu Miu. Millie told us your personal style is “flowy dresses and sunflowers” while hers is “depressing black hoodies”? True?

[Laughs] We’re definitely fashion opposites.

How do you feel about being a role model for younger girls?

I think it’s cool! As Millie has said, we’re powerful on screen and off screen. Eleven’s powerful because of her telekinetic abilities, and Max is powerful because of her confidence. There are a lot of different things young kids can look up to as far as quality role models go!

Stranger Things, Season 3 Premiere, Thursday, July 4, Netflix