Bringing a brand new kid into Stranger Things territory during its victory lap season should have been a nightmare, but casting director Carmen Cuba treated it like a puzzle she already knew how to solve.
Derek Turnbow, played by newcomer Jake Connelly, became one of season 5’s breakout additions, and Cuba reveals exactly how she landed on the actor who had done almost nothing before stepping into his role for Stranger Things.
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“Derek is a character we have not had before,” she explains in an exclusive interview with Parade. “You always have the same fear of, you know, they have to be at least as good as the existing ones. Sometimes you kind of think they might have to be better to stand out and to step in, and not even just talent wise but also just energy and like who they are in the world.”
Connelly, who is just 13 years old, had no major credits when he auditioned. In fact, Cuba says his resume consisted of one local commercial he made for a family friend’s car company. Still, he clicked instantly.
To test him, she did something unexpected. She handed him scenes from Home Alone.
“For him, fun fact, we had him read Home Alone scenes,” she says. “And he had done nothing, by the way. But he does very much have that vibe, that like ‘I am going to defend my family at all costs’ vibe.”
That energy helped expand Derek’s role once filming began. Cuba says Ross and Matt Duffer, the masterminds behind the show, often tailor characters to the actors who bring them to life and Derek was no exception.
“Derek’s role expanded once Jake was cast,” she reveals, calling it a perfect example of how the show evolves in real time.
Cuba also stressed that she never goes into a season looking for a type she has cast before. Every character is built from scratch.
Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images for Netflix
“The characters just are not recyclable in any way that is super interesting,” she continues. “I have never gone back to something that I already looked for and that is a testament to the writing.”
Even though Stranger Things famously launched its original kids as unknowns, Cuba had specific parameters this time. Season 5 needed young actors with at least some professional experience. Connelly technically didn’t have that, but his instincts were undeniable.
What makes his casting even more impressive is how seamlessly he fits into a cast that has grown up together on camera for nearly a decade.
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As Cuba puts it, “Everyone was so excited, always, about all of this stuff. It really was like this garden that kept giving us more and more.”
Connelly may be the last young performer to join that garden, but according to Cuba, he earned his place the same way every fan favorite before him did.
Stranger Things Volume I is currently streaming on Netflix with Volume II set to premiere on Christmas Day, followed by the finale on New Years Eve.
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