Apart from being a brilliant director, Shawn Levy is also an amazing teacher. The Canadian filmmaker has worked with grown actors along with child actors. Although the child actors being gifted, sometimes the director has to mold their gift in the right direction. Apart from working with the Stranger Things kids, Levy also worked with several other young actors and helped them with their roles on sets.

Ahead of the release of All The Light We Cannot See, Levy opened up about how he followed the same technique in his upcoming series that he followed in Stranger Things.

Shawn Levy explained his approach with the All the Light We Cannot See actors

All the Light We Cannot See will drop on Netflix on the 2nd of November. Ahead of the release, the director talked about the process of combining two different sets of actors in the series during his conversation with Josh Horowitz from the Happy Sad Confused podcast. Levy revealed, “I really do like combining veterans with discoveries.” What he meant was that he loved combining the experienced actors with the new ones.

Talking about the method, the 55-year-old director took the host on a journey of the auditions for the lead role. He admitted to having hundreds of auditions. However, the raw talent of one young and inexperienced young woman (Aria Mia Loberti) caught his attention. Talking about the difficulties and nervousness of the newcomer, Levy revealed he helped her get comfortable. Therefore, he tried to create a safe and easy environment around Loberti.

“A part of my job is interesting to me every day is the language that you have to find with each actor,” said Levy. Fortunately, he found common ground with Loberti and created a truthful environment for her to evolve as an actor. Now, this is something he also did in Stranger Things as well when he came across the child actors who were relatively new in the industry.

How did the Deadpool director help the Stranger Things actors in their initial stage?

Shawn Levy is one of the executive producers of the Netflix Original, and also an occasional director. Being an executive producer, he was present during the selection of the cast. When Backstage talked to the director about discovering new talent in 2019, he cited the example of Finn Wolfhard. Although his first audition was not at all up to the mark, there was a quality in him that made them sit up and notice.

The same was the case with Aria Mia Loberti. Levy’s artistic background enabled him to recognize the significance of achieving a delicate balance between creative freedom and structured guidance on set. Therefore, he tried to make kids feel as comfortable and safe as he could. As he revealed on the podcast, he loved breaking someone and discovering something that had not been discovered yet.

Despite the worrisome casting age in the show, Shawn Levy continues to use his magic in Stranger Things and in his upcoming Netflix series. What do you think about the Canadian director’s technique? Share your views in the comments below.