[CLIP] Holly Wheeler: Henry said never to go into the woods, never, ever.
Nell Fisher (as Holly Wheeler): It doesn’t make sense. Thomas said never to go into the woods, never, ever.
[upbeat music playing]
Nell Fisher: Hi, I’m Nell Fisher. I'm 147 centimeters tall, I’m 11 years old.
Matt Duffer: Holly is played by Nell Fisher this year, an incredibly talented actress.
Ross Duffer: Something we talked about early on was passing the torch, and there’s a new generation coming up, which is why we wanted to introduce Holly as a main character and Derek and all of their friends.
[CLIP] Derek Turnbow: Try not to puke!
[CLIP] Mary: Stop!
[Derek laughs]
[CLIP] Mary: Jerk face!
Nell Fisher: For me, it’s my first season, and so it’s kind of exciting and it’s new and it’s fresh, but for a lot of these people, it’s kind of the end of a very long road, and I’m kind of just lucky to be a part of that.
Man: [Off-screen] What are you doing? You know I have to go.
Nell Fisher (as Holly Wheeler): Sorry. They told me to wait.
Man: [Off-screen] Do you like her?
Nell Fisher (as Holly Wheeler): Is she a warrior?
Man: [Off-screen] Even better, she’s a cleric.
[CLIP] Mike Wheeler: She’s a cleric, which means she has divine powers. She can cast spells of protection to ward against evil spirits. Even cooler, she can cast a dimension door.
Shawn Levy: Very early on, the brothers wanted to centralize Holly as a character. And so this was both an opportunity, but also a necessity to really cast someone to play Holly, who is now 10, 11, 12 years old. And not coincidentally, the age, that innocent, defining age, that our kids were when this started.
Sadie Sink: It was such a joy, honestly, to work with Nell and explore kind of a different side of my character just in regards to their dynamic. You kind of see Max take on like this sisterly role. That kind of shocked me this season of how important that was for Max to have. And Nell is so amazing. She’s such a talented young actress.
[CLIP] Holly Wheeler: Do you know Henry?
[CLIP] Max Mayfield: You could say that.
[CLIP] Holly Wheeler: He left me this note here, see? And he told me to meet him right here at the X. I think he’s in trouble with the monsters.
Nell Fisher (as Holly Wheeler): I think he’s in trouble with the monsters.
Sadie Sink (as Max Mayfield): He’s not in trouble with the monsters.
Nell Fisher (as Holly Wheeler): But the note says —
Sadie Sink (as Max Mayfield): I know what the note says.
Nell Fisher (as Holly Wheeler): Then how do you know?
Sadie Sink (as Max Mayfield): Holly.
Nell Fisher (as Holly Wheeler): He said hurry!
Sadie Sink (as Max Mayfield): I know what the note says because I wrote it.
Interviewer: [Off-screen] Do you remember your initial reaction when you read the scripts?
Nell Fisher: I do. I was on a family holiday in Wales, right by the beach. My siblings and my parents were like, “Oh my gosh, come outside, you’re being so boring. “Stop … stop reading these scripts. We’re going swimming”" And I was like, “That’s fine, that’s fine. You can go, but I’m staying right here.” I was absolutely hooked because these scripts are just amazing. Which is so exciting.