Stranger Things is a perfect concoction of 90s nostalgia, a thrilling storyline, and spell bounding special effects. But it is in the performance of its actors where the true treasure lies. Had Millie Bobby Brown not possessed the acting finesse to make the camera and ultimately the viewers believe that she was indeed crushing cans and throwing people around with the strength of her mind, there is only so much that CGI could do. The actress and the show are now like two peas in a pod. But getting to this pod was an uphill battle, to say the least.

It is often discussed how difficult it is to find a job as an actor with less experience. And this is true in the case of Millie Bobby Brown as Stranger Things creators took a lot of time to decide Brown was the one.

What did it take for the Duffer Brothers to realize Millie Bobby Brown was the one?

It is clear through how they have managed to make a town as ordinary as Hawkins seem like the hotspot for dangers beyond the realm of reality that the Duffer Brothers had a very clear idea of what they wanted to do. This is why it took them 1213 auditions to finally pick who would form the crux of their dream project. It took quite a while before anyone was confirmed. This was especially true for Millie Bobby Brown, who auditioned to play the arguable star of the show. She had to excel over the 307 girls to make it to the final.

To her advantage, Millie Bobby Brown was the age of her character’s name when she auditioned. The Duffer Brothers, however, needed something stronger to grab onto, and so they asked her to show them how emotional she can get. The rest is history and also a viral reaction meme. Millie Bobby Brown may have found her ‘the one’ pretty early in Jake Bonjiovi, but that is not true for Stranger Things‘ creators.

The tumultuous casting process stayed on board as the series progressed to later seasons. So much so that despite fitting the character description, Sadie Sink lied that she knew how to skate, only to learn it with the help of the rest of the cast. Brown and Sink may have their inspiring tales from the time of the auditions, but nothing beats that of Finn Wolfhard.

How did Stranger Things cast Finn Wolfhard?

If Millie Bobby Brown had to fight up to level 307, then Finn Wolfhard had to reach level 900+ to win his game. To make things more challenging for him was the fact that he was terribly ill. Making sure the point gets across to the creators, he introduced himself as “Hey, I am Finn and I am sick,” before reading the Stang By Me dialogues on the basis of which the cast was selected.

Thankfully, Carben Cuba, the casting director, found it hilarious. As he looked back at the auditions in his Vanity Fair interview, he even fondly remembers it as the “funniest“. This is how Stranger Things came to meet its Mike and Eleven.

Did you know that Millie Bobby Brown had to cross these many audition tapes for Stranger Things? Let us know in the comments below.