In Volume 1 of Stranger Things 5, Hope Hynes Love appears as Holly Wheeler’s (Nell Fisher) caring and compassionate teacher, Miss Harris.
Love, the artistic director at East Chapel Hill High School in North Carolina, was hand-picked for the part by series creators Matt and Ross Duffer. Following the release of the first four episodes of Season 5, Ross Duffer revealed why Love’s casting was so special: She was the Duffer Brothers’ drama teacher at C.E. Jordan High School in Durham, NC, where they grew up.
“High school was rough for me and my brother,” Duffer wrote in an Instagram post. “But Hope saw something in us we didn’t see in ourselves — and she helped give us the confidence to not only survive those four years, but to move to LA and chase our dreams. Shoutout to all the teachers out there making a difference. And please… let’s prioritize the arts in schools.”
Speaking to Tudum, Love details how the Duffer Brothers offered her the role of Miss Harris and whether her students view her differently now that she’s featured in Stranger Things.
How were you cast as Miss Harris in Stranger Things 5?
The boys — that’s my phrase for [Matt and Ross Duffer] — and I have been in touch since they graduated. When Season 4 came out, I was like, “Guys, you’re amazing.” And they’re like, “Oh, thank you so much. We actually thought we had a cameo for you in [Season 4], but it didn’t work out. We had to cut it.” And I looked at my husband, and I was like, “Yeah, how nice are they? This is a lovely lie. They’re so gracious.”
And then — I’m going to say December 2023 or January 2024 — I got a little message from them. They’re like, “Hey, I know you’re really busy, but if you think you can make the time, it’ll probably be in the summer, and can we make it happen? We think we might have a small role for you in the next season. Do you think you could do it?”
I, of course, wrote them back and said, “Boys, listen. Yes, I certainly would make that work. But I have to tell you, you could put me on a stage anywhere in the world, and I’m confident. … But I haven’t done camera work since I put myself through graduate school. Who knows whether I’m up to snuff anymore. You might want to audition me. I’m happy if that’s the process I need to go through, but as long as you promise that you’ll fire me if I suck, as was the contract we had when you were my students, I absolutely trust you. Let’s see.” And they're like, “Yeah, whatever. Here’s the casting director. She’ll be in touch with you.”
I was hedging at the beginning, and they were all in, which is lovely of them.
When they put you in touch with casting director Carmen Cuba, what process did you go through? Did you actually audition?
No, not at all. And I actually had to take my own advice, which is the worst and best thing as a teacher. I was like, “OK, you have this opportunity. You better get to work.”
I reached out to my dear friend Edith Snow, who’s also an actress and does consulting and teaching, and I was like, “We need to get to work. Let’s go. What do I need to know?” Because that’s exactly what I would tell a kid: “If you want to be ready, you better put in the work.” And so I did.
What did it mean to you that Ross and Matt Duffer actually thought of you for the role of Miss Harris?
It’s everything. You always want your students to look back on their time with you as a valuable use of their youth. That the things that they invested in you and your program have served them well. It’s lovely when they reach back and go, “I’m doing this cool thing. Do you want to come see if you think it’s cool?” And I’m like, “Absolutely.” Why would that change just because you’re not 16 anymore, and you’re 30? Yes, I want to come see your cool thing. Isn’t that the deal between us?
What was it like filming on Stranger Things 5? What cool memories stick out to you?
I think it speaks to the directorial prowess that the boys had me scheduled for the bus scene first, because I can’t imagine that they thought I wouldn’t be intimidated and nervous. You have to know that. Any co-star walking onto that set is a fan of the show. So they put me on a bus with 12-year-olds, which is my jam. It was like, “Oh, look, a bunch of young faces that I want to get to know.”
That distracted me from how nervous I was and just settled me in, which is brilliant because your job as a director is to make your actors feel safe and comfortable and then just capture [it] when something comes out of them that’s brilliant.
Did the Duffer Brothers offer you any advice while filming?
I think the thing that was hard for both of us was the urge to just visit [each other], because we’ve been talking electronically for a long time, but we haven’t breathed the same air. I can’t accurately say the last time I was in the same space with them. I think it might be high school.
Just being in the same room with each other, we wanted to chit-chat. I think that there actually was one moment where I was waiting for a scene, and they snuck out and sat in the chairs under the tent with me, and we were chit-chatting away in really low voices because they were rehearsing. And the PA came out and said, “Guys, do you want to come in and see this?” And they’re like, “Oh, shoot. We got in trouble by the teachers. We’ve got to go.”
I would say [they gave] less advice and more direction. Like, “That’s great. Can you do that slower?” I enjoyed being directed by them as an actor. I totally trusted that they would take care of me.
How would you describe the Duffer Brothers as students?
I don’t talk about who they were as students because they were my students. That’s an insular relationship that should be protected. But I will talk about the values of our program at that time, [which] I think they were definitely more attuned to embracing.
They were excellent ensemble members. Our philosophy at Jordan [High School] when they were there was that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts … You can do things together that you could not do individually. And I have seen them embrace that.
Did you ever expect the Duffer Brothers to reach the level of success that they have with Stranger Things?
I train all of my students so that if they ever are doing this professionally, they’re ready. I’ve always said, “I don’t teach high school actors. I teach artists who happen to be of high school age.”
What I often say at my beginning level is, “If you never do this, you’re going to learn some skills that will serve you well in your life. And if you do this for forever, I want to start you the way I wish somebody had started me” — with a solid foundation and with an understanding of what this takes and taking themselves seriously. Your work doesn’t [only] matter in graduate school or when you get your first Netflix gig.
The quality of your work and your reputation and integrity as an artist is now in how you’re showing up in class, how you’re showing up every day … how you talk about somebody who gets cast, and you don’t get cast. That’s who you are. It’s not somewhere in the future, it’s now. And you’re not an actor once you get a part on a Netflix show. You’re an actor if you’re showing up, and you’re doing the work every single day, period. You don’t need anybody else outside of you to tell you [that] you are something. You are it if you’re doing it. Full stop.
Do your students look at you differently because you’re in Stranger Things?
I think the trick is, do I start believing that spin? I’m not any different than I was five days ago, but will I take the fact that students who were prickly when I redirected them to go back to class … are a little softer about it because I might be cool for the year? Oh, I’ll take all the juice out of that.
The first four episodes of Stranger Things 5 are streaming now on Netflix, followed by three more episodes on Christmas Day and The Finale on New Year’s Eve. Each volume releases at 5 p.m. PT. Find out when new episodes arrive in your part of the world here. And test your knowledge of Stranger Things with our superfan quiz.
