Season-five breakout Jake Connelly says he now looks to co-star Jamie Campbell Bower as a mentor.
Photo: Netflix
Halfway through the final season of Stranger Things, the MVP award belongs to Jake Connelly. He has become a fan favorite for his performance as Derek, a new character who evolves from obnoxious bully to hilarious hero. Despite all the internet love in the weeks since the first four episodes dropped, Connelly is still just a 13-year-old boy who can’t wait to spend the weekend sledding with his buddies and watching his favorite football team.
“It’s been really insane,” Connelly admits, speaking on a Friday afternoon after a wild week of class. On his high-school’s elective night, rather than focus on his studies, Connelly got swarmed by fans who love his foulmouthed character: “I think it’s cool that people want to come up and take selfies with me. All my friends are quoting my lines, and it’s really funny just hearing them say these horrible things in the hallways.”
Until just a few weeks ago, the Chicago-based eighth-grader spent his free time playing football, which he hopes to keep doing, and his biggest credit was a local commercial for Feldco Windows, Siding & Doors. But his life is forever changed now, even though Delightful Derek was never the original plan. When first introduced, Derek is far from delightful. Some would even say he’s “Dipshit Derek.” Among his less admirable actions are terrorizing classmate Holly Wheeler (Nell Fisher), proudly declaring that his room smells because of his farts, and suggesting that “Mom can suck a fat one” rather than report for dinner. So how does that kind of kid suddenly become a beloved figure? Creators Matt and Ross Duffer were so taken by Connelly’s real-life charm at the cast table read that they pivoted the character away from being a stereotypical bully. Motivated by a speech from Joyce (Winona Ryder), Derek steps up as the leader of a child revolution, helping free and protect his fellow Hawkins youngsters who have fallen under the spell of Mr. Whatsit, a.k.a. Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower).
“I feel that, deep down, nobody’s really a bad person; we all have a little bit of good in our hearts,” Connelly says. “Think about the Grinch. A whole bunch of people from Whoville guilted him into actually becoming a good person. You just need to have somebody who can bring that out in you. And I think Joyce pep-talking Derek helped him discover himself and know how doing good can really make you feel good inside.”
What do you think it is about Derek that everyone loves?
People might relate to Derek. He has some insecurities and gets nervous and worried about things, and he sometimes takes that out on others.
How did you get into acting?
My mom’s friend directs commercials here in Chicago, so one day he asked her, “Does Jake want to be in a commercial? I need a kid with glasses.” And we were like, Let’s just take a chance on it. One thing led to the next, we signed with a talent agency, this audition came up, it was my first big thing, and my career just took off.
We all need to see this commercial now.
It was a roofing commercial; some roof shingles fell on burgers at a cookout. My onscreen dad was saying that the burgers were done after he cleared off the shingles, and my character saw it and yelled for his mom louder than ever before.
How did Derek first come into your life?
This was the stuff of dreams for me, because my parents, my brother, and I would always watch an episode before bed. So it was crazy to see an audition like that come in, because I never thought that I’d ever be able to do something this big. We thought, It’s Stranger Things, it’s this huge thing, you’re probably not gonna get it but might as well just take a shot. We had a couple callbacks, and they liked me for the role. I’d heard many stories about how fun it could be to play a mean character, and I really like being able to be someone who I’m totally not.
How did you find out that you landed the role?
We were in the basement under tornado warnings. [Laughs] Our agents asked if we could hop on a call, and we’re sitting down there, like, “Sure, I guess we don’t have anything better to do.” We saw that every single agent from the agency was on, and they all said, “Jake, you’re going to Hawkins!”
What was it like stepping on the set for the first time?
The first filming day was in the radio-station basement, when I was eating Doritos in episode four. I always loved doing the scenes with food because it’s really fun to be able to eat on set. And my teacher left me a little bag of Nerds and some balloons in my trailer before I went on set, which was really heartfelt.
This cast of young actors started the show around your age and have become a close-knit group. Was it intimidating to slide into that?
I was really nervous. The first table read, my leg was literally shaking under the table. But everybody made me feel like I had been there since day one. Joe Keery and Gaten Matarazzo, we were throwing wadded-up pieces of paper at one another. They really made me feel so welcome and comfortable in a situation that I had never been in before.
Did any of your co-stars have advice for you?
One of my biggest mentors is probably Jamie Campbell Bower, who plays Vecna. We saw him hanging by a dumpster outside our hotel one night, and we went up to him: “What’s up, Jamie?” And he said, “Jake, I got some advice for you: Make sure you keep your head on straight and never let it touch the clouds.”
Co-creator Matt Duffer said that Derek started out as a stereotypical bully, but you were so charming and funny that the character grew into something more compelling. As production went on, could you get a sense that Matt and Ross were rethinking Derek’s trajectory and behavior?
It all started at the table read. When we were about to leave, Matt and Ross were in the bathroom line ahead of me, so we struck up a conversation, and they said, “Jake, you’re so charming, we really think we can give you a bigger role in this.” I was so honored that they entrusted me, and I think that’s how I could go in and do my best and feel good about the work I was doing.
You’ve mentioned Joyce’s pep talk to Derek, and I thought you and Winona Ryder developed a lovely chemistry. Was that an easy dynamic between the two of you?
Winona is one of the sweetest people I’ve ever met. She’s so maternal and kind to everyone. I was a little bit scared of going up into the hayloft because I’m not the best at heights, but she gave me this huge hug once I got down. I really loved working with her.
Were you prepared for how memorable the “Delightful Derek” line was going to become?
On set that day, I remember that Matt and Ross said, “Jake, you’re probably gonna become a meme with this scene.” I just thought that was hilarious. Even though it’s such a menial little line, to say that to someone can get them pumped up to do their best.
Since he dropped the line a few times, should we assume that “suck a fat one” is the official Derek catchphrase? And I’m guessing your parents are hoping that saying stays on set?
My parents actually kind of like it. [Laughs] But it’s crazy to hear people yelling that out at school.
Derek has the ultimate ’80s bedroom. Were you familiar with all of the games and toys surrounding you?
My parents grew up in the ’80s, and they’ve taught me a lot of those old things. It was amazing to be transported back to a great time and see all the set decoration that was there, down to the old Macintosh computers, stuffed-animal Gumby, Transformers pillow covers, and He-Man comforters.
Speaking of parents, you seem to be having a ball during the Turnbow family dinner scene in which you all get drugged. Is that your natural laugh? Because it’s one of a kind.
Director Frank Darabont gave me advice on how to do the laugh. He said, “Heckle like a goblin.” I made sure that I made myself a goblin. I even made my brother laugh out loud on set.
Noah Schnapp recently talked about you guys getting rough with each other. You run over Noah, Winona, and Maya Hawke, and then Noah ends up tackling you. Apparently, you got a bit scraped up, but you were all in, saying you felt like Tom Cruise. Was that the football player in you coming out?
Getting tackled doesn’t sound that fun on paper, but once you get into that momentum and all the action, it’s really awesome. I did get a little banged up, but I’m a football player, I can take it. I saw the official NFL TikTok account posted a video of Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson ripping his shirt off, and it was amazing how I actually got mentioned alongside my favorite team.
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