Matthew Modine Isn’t Sure if ‘Stranger Things’ Is Done With Him

This interview includes spoilers for the entire fourth season of “Stranger Things.”

The final episode of the latest season of Stranger Things, which debuted on Netflix on Friday, included some tragic see-offs. One of the most powerful was the farewell between Millie Bobby Brown’s Eleven and Dr. Martin Brenner, a white-haired mad scientist played by Hollywood veteran Matthew Modine.

Brenner, who helped Eleven develop his psychokinesis at the infamous Hawkins National Laboratory, was the show’s main (human) villain until the Demogorgon attack at the end of Season 1. A flashback that filled the story of the origins of Eleven and the villain Vecna ​​(Jamie Campbell Bower), and his unique sense of intellectual threat to the subplot that relearned Eleven with her very special set of skills.

In the penultimate episode of the season, Brenner was repeatedly shot by snipers from a helicopter and re-encountered what appeared to be a violent end. But is he leaving forever?

Even Modern isn’t sure, he said in a recent phone interview, but he wants to get back somehow. In conversation, “Stranger Things” is the star of the highly acclaimed movie “Full Metal Jacket,” “Birdy,” “Beloved, Married,” and the groundbreaking HBO documentary drama “The Moment of Destiny.” We talked about how he changed his life. Why he wants Brenner’s story not over. These are edited excerpts from the interview.

As I’ve experienced once, characters that appear dead in “Stranger Things” often don’t die. Will Dr. Brenner return to Season 5, which is due to be the final season of the show?

I certainly don’t know. I want a chance to come back. As far as I know, the Duffer brothers haven’t even started writing Season 5 as well as shooting Season 5.

Do you think Dr. Brenner is a villain?

Well, that’s an interesting question. Ambition is very complicated. The questions you think you are asking are: “Does Brenner have the ability to empathize and compassion? Did he like numbers? Did he love Eleven?” What I wanted to infuse into a character as a performer was that love and compassion. There is no mistake. He didn’t just abuse them. He absolutely loved them.

11 was excellent at what Brenner was trying to discover, that is, this ability to have psychokinesis. Brenner is trying to understand the power of thinking. Is it possible to clarify what you think? Interestingly, he encourages her to use her anger. That is the source of Eleven’s power. Every time she uses that power, it’s a destructive way. I think that’s probably what the Duffer brothers are looking for in Season 5. It is the destructive power of our thoughts.

I feel that there are still some themes to unpack.

absolutely. There is also something interesting that Duffers has incorporated into the story. How Brenner survived Demogorgon is not really explained. Why did he also survive Vecna? The door hit his face and broke his nose, but he survived. Why didn’t he die with everyone else? And when Eleven regains power and blows the guards into the air and then tries to use power against me, Brenner says, “Don’t you think it would be really easy?” In my opinion, Brenner has an opening that may be more than visible.

How much of his inside story did you say?

The only backstory I have is what I have created in my mind to fulfill that role.

Which one?

I’m trying to understand what degree Brenner has. How did he get the job? How did he imagine the job? When I received the script, Brenner was like Peter Coyote in “ET” — I think they called the character the key. He wore jeans and a flannel shirt. He had a beard for several days. He had many descriptive dialogues. When they told me they were doing it, it was like I wasn’t going to imitate Peter Coyote.

So I said, “What if I whiten my hair and die?” I was thinking about Marlon Brando of “Young Lion” and Rutger Hauer of “Blade Runner”, but the bad guys in Japanese anime always seem to have gray hair. And, “I want to wear a suit like Cary Grant in’North by Northwest’. Even if I fall and stand up, the suit is still beautiful. I want the audience to smell my aftershave. I want to shave very cleanly, and I want to provide it to the people around me so that all of this commentary dialogue can focus on finding all 11 in Dr. Brenner’s focus. “

His concern is what happens if she falls into someone’s hands. very Exploit her with evil. Brenner, in my view, didn’t want to catch her by being angry with her or trying to harm her to her.

What do you think of your love for 80’s pop culture shows? InspiredEspecially for viewers who are too young to remember it?

I think it was like when “American Graffiti” came out. I thought it was the coolest and most amazing thing I’ve ever done. I loved music. I loved the post-war optimism that all children had before the Vietnam War. For me, “American graffiti” is what everyone is experiencing with “Stranger Things.” Having lived in the 80’s, I know it wasn’t that great, but it’s nostalgic. We pick the best moments and everything makes sense. For a child raised in a pandemic, there is no bike mask or child with a walkie-talkie and Kate Bush’s beautiful song. It seems like a more friendly and less dangerous time.

Did this show change the way you approach in public?

yes. In the olden days, if you succeeded in 60 regions, it would be amazing.Let’s go Netflix is ​​in over 190 regions.. Therefore, being part of what is so successful around the world did not exist 10 years ago.

Millie and I will go out in public, and she will soon be recognized by young people. I must remember being with “actor Millie Bobby Brown”. She is not this young girl she knew since she was 11 years old. To me, she is this girl with a charming personality and a great sense of humor. And you go out and realize, oh, part of her belongs to the world.

We drove to Florida — we had a break to shoot in Atlanta, so we drove to the beach with her family. We went to Wal-Mart and received the supplies, but the people were: Dr. Brenner and Eleven are in Walmart! what’s happening? !! “Talking upside down. At that moment we turned people’s lives upside down. Great. I’m very proud of her and other castmates — a train with this kind of global success. There were no accidents. There was nothing terrible about any of them. I don’t want to use the name, but in the 80’s and 90’s, fame, wealth and popularity chewed and destroyed my life. You can look back on the young performers. They are all doing very well to keep their feet on the ground.

Do you think this show has opened the door to you?

I don’t know, it may be premature to say.I I turned down “Top Gun”. It didn’t suit me well. First of all, I’m 6’3. It didn’t fit in the cockpit. [Laughs.]

I have never been driven by the desire to be famous and wealthy. What I like about this job is the opportunity to learn: Harper Lee says “to kill the Alabama story” It means that we never really understand others until we get into their skin and move around.

I think “and the band played”. Understand what was happening during the AIDS / HIV crisis. Meeting the scientists who were at the forefront of trying to solve the problem was a special experience. It was really important, especially in my profession, as it was like a wildfire passing through my colleagues and killing people. The movie has great lines. “When the house is on fire, you don’t look to blame anyone. You grab the hose and put out the fire.”

That is the opportunity we can do. It’s about helping people live at a price through characters that can give them the opportunity to feel better, learn, and empathize with life.