Warning: This story contains spoilers from Stranger Things Season 4, Volume 1.

If you search “thicc Vecna” on Twitter right now, quite a bit of thirst shows up in the search results. “And y’all wrong. You all are wrong for that one,” Jamie Campbell Bower tells Tudum, laughing over video chat. He’s shocked — he’s delighted. “People, come on,” the English actor playfully chides. 

Like the omniscient Vecna in the Upside Down, nothing gets past Bower. Because Bower is Vecna. And One. And Henry Creel. All of these connections are revealed in “Massacre at Hawkins Lab,” the finale of Stranger Things Season 4, Volume 1. Although Bower spends most of Volume 1 stomping around Hawkins as Vecna, his identity isn’t obvious. Instead, Bower — famous as “the rabbit foot” of the fantasy genre with roles in Twilight, The Mortal Instruments and more — is initially only recognizable as a character officially named Friendly Orderly. That orderly is kind to Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) during her childhood in Hawkins Lab. 

The scales fall from fans’ eyes (and Eleven’s) as the Volume 1 finale reaches its crescendo. Bower’s orderly commits the episode’s titular massacre, revealing himself to be powered just like Eleven. That’s because he came to the lab as young Henry, following the murders in the Creel family home, which he carried out. Upon realizing Henry’s bloodthirsty villainy, Eleven accidentally banishes him to the Upside Down, creating Vecna. 

A seven-hour process: Jamie Campbell Bower as Vecna

“There was always this idea of stillness with Henry and a methodical nature to how he was and is. That was very much in there with Vecna as well,” says Bower, who has been a Stranger Things fan since its debut. “Then when everything kicks off in [Episode] 7 and obviously he is Vecna, there’s more freedom to it. But he’s still very concise in his choices of how he chooses to move.” 

If you can’t tell, Bower loves Vecna — even though he mentally refers to the enigmatic character as Henry. “Or sometimes if I’m getting ready or de-rigging as Vecna, I’ll call him V-Man,” he says. So here, Bower tells us exactly why “V-Man” doesn’t see himself as the villain and what to expect from Volume 2... along with some words of encouragement for all the Twihards out there. 

When did you learn you’d be playing three different characters? It happened pretty quickly. [Co-creators] Matt and Ross [Duffer] and Carmen [Cuba] from the casting team sent me two sets of sides, one from Hellraiser and one from Primal Fear. Knowing Primal Fear and the way in which one character presents themselves in that, I was like, “Okay, well there’s obviously some sort of masking going on here.” And then I was sent some dummy sides as well for Vecna. So I figured it out pretty quickly. 

Bower as Henry

Were there any acting choices you made to connect Henry and Vecna? Little things that are slightly more animalistic, [with his] head tilts. Also, I’m a really big fan of the [Stanley] Kubrickian stare. So anything where the chin is down and the eyes are up, I would say it is just nice and naughty and dark, and it feels really great. 

The way that you talk about the physicality of Henry is very animal kingdom predator. Do you purposefully bring that to him?  It was more that I had to mask this rage and this belief system with something [that helped him] survive within the environment that he was in. Really, the survival is him presenting like, “Yeah. Everything’s fine. But actually I want to fuck you up.”

Raphael Luce as Young Henry Creel, and the rest of the Creel family

Tina Rowden/Netflix

Did you meet the actor who plays young Henry? No. I never had the opportunity to meet him. But what I found really fascinating about this show is how things just line up. The way I was holding my forehead, particularly above the eyes, my eyebrows were always just slightly more up. And I saw a picture of him in the head of the hair department’s chair as I was sitting in there with her, and I was like, “We are holding our brows in the same way.”

How long did it take to get fully Vecna-ed? About seven hours. We started at about eight hours and managed to shave about an hour off. It was a long process.

Sadie Sink and Bower as Max and Vecna

Tina Rowden/Netflix

At the end of the day, do you go, “I’ll just go home in this. We don’t need to take this off. I’ll be back?” No, not once. Not that I was dying to get it off, but sleeping in that... I could barely sit. Lying down would just be a nightmare.

Why do you think he picks Eleven specifically to, say, mentor? Given the way she’s treated in the institute and the way the other children are treating her, he sees a lot of himself in her. She’s the underdog, she’s quiet. You know when you see somebody and you just go, “That person’s got potential. That person’s got something. They’re not shouting about it. They’re not raving about it, but there’s something going on in there”? That’s what he sees in her. 

Particularly for that scene with Eleven and with Henry, when they get accosted by the guards and Henry’s allowed to use his powers, I felt like there was a real bond between the two of them. Then, obviously, with everything that happens subsequently and afterwards, that bond is still there. But the rage that he has within him for these other kids and the way in which the world has treated him is much more at the surface now. 

Millie Bobby Brown and Bower as Eleven and Henry

Going into Volume 2, there’s the fight for Hawkins on the horizon. Do you think Vecna sees himself as the villain here going forward? Absolutely not. No way. God no. He’s the savior. He’s what’s good and right in the world.

How do you bring that and ground that perspective? Because our heroes would much rather enjoy their reality, free of Upside Down villains.  But you don’t need a house where I’m taking you all. It’s fine. We can all live in the mind lair together. I think that ultimately his goal is to live in a world of truth.

Our beloved group of Stranger Things individuals have their saying, “friends don’t lie.” [Vecna’s plan] is another layer to that. It’s this idea, again, of righteous justice. Where the facade and the rug [are] pulled out from under the feet of institutions. It’s like, “We all float down here.”

Max hugging someone who does not believe they’re a villain

Tina Rowden/Netflix

So when he approaches his victims, he thinks he’s helping?  Absolutely. 100%. And I think he takes great relish in that as well. I think he takes great pleasure in being able to free people from their guilt constraint.

Should we expect to learn more about his motivations in Volume 2?  You should expect to learn a lot more [about Henry] and a lot more about the universe of Stranger Things and why things are the way that they are. There’s beautiful character development for all of us. It’s really nice to be able to feel like we’ve still got a way to go rather than being like, “Well now we’re just at the climax.” There’s more to tell. 

Bower as Caius in the Twilight series

And for all the Twilight fans out there... Oh, I’m in. I’m sold. Let’s go.

Now that you’re doing another iconic genre title, how does it feel to see all of that Twilight love still out there?  The amount of people that I met, particularly at the Netflix office, who were like, “I’m secretly the world’s biggest Twilight fan,” I was like, “You don’t need to be secret about it. We all are.” Don’t be ashamed. This is not a guilty pleasure. This is a pleasure.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.