'Stranger Things' stars share the highs and lows of working with kids

(10 Aug 2017) 'STRANGER THINGS' STARS SHARE THE HIGHS AND LOWS OF WORKING WITH KIDS
From spontaneity to flatulence, the stars of Netflix's "Stranger Things" say the show's young cast brings so much to set.
"They smell. And the farting," explained David Harbour. "Yes, oh god yes. Oh god yes! The amount of takes ruined by the occasional body movement that they can't control. Come on, when you were a child, when you were teenager - I mean, the amount of things that are happening in your body that you just cannot control. You know we've all been through it! That's very challenging."
Those awkward teen years can also create awkward moments while shooting.
"I mean they're kind of great, but they're kind of like teenagers and it's such an awkward time. And even though they're big shot movie stars, they're still teenagers so, like, they don't know anything about girls and they kind of come to me and they want to ask questions and I'm like, 'I have to go.' Like, this doesn't happen to me when I work with other people. And, like, it's just a very vulnerable time. So it's got the beauty of like their pure huggability and then it's got this complexity of, like, you guys got to go through the teenage years, which was so hard on all of us."
Harbour says he's quite protective of the hit show's young stars, who include Gaten Matarazzo, Noah Schnapp, Caleb McLaughlin, Finn Wolfhard and Millie Bobby Brown.
"I have to say with all this attention they've gotten, all this fame that they've got, I worry for them like as a fellow actor because I want them to preserve the fact that they're just weird, misfit kids who can bring that to the screen. And I also want them to develop as artists. So I'm very protective of them in a strange way because as everyone else sort of kowtows and is so excited by them, I'm the one going on set and being like, 'No, let's grow. Let's develop further. Like, it was good, but let's get it better.'"
His ultimate goal is to push them to be the best.
"I'm sort of like a bit of a taskmaster with them and I think that, you know, I think that they appreciate it because I think they have a lot of people telling them that, you know, their whatever doesn't stink. And I think that they need those voices that are a bit harder on them. So I like being in that position where I can be... I like trying to take a position of kind of mentoring them and trying to be like, 'Look, I want you guys when I'm in the nursing home, I want you to bring me your Oscars so I can look at them. I want you to develop into Meryl Streep and to Daniel Day-Lewis. I don't want you to become someone who flashes out. I want you to become artists.' So, you know, I think ultimately they appreciate that," Harbour said.
The greatest lesson co-star Joe Keery has learned is to be present in the moment.
"Just to get out of your goddamn head," he said. "I feel like so many people, you know, are doing the work on set. I think a lot of the work that you should do is kind of beforehand and then these kids - they're on set, hanging out, talking two seconds before the take, talking about some fart joke and then they're going and all of a sudden, it's like, the stakes are high. It's just, like, refreshing to have such energy and just fun. They're having so much fun."
"Stranger Things" is set to return to Netflix on Oct. 31.

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