Jake Connelly, who plays Derek Turnbow in the Stranger Things season 5, volume one, is basically having the time of his life. The 13-year-old actor is enjoying eighth grade in his Chicago-suburbs middle school — “It's kind of like senior year, just having it easy,” he tells Teen Vogue — while also becoming a breakout star in the most popular TV franchise of the past decade.
Warning: Spoilers ahead for the first volume of Stranger Things 5.
Derek, one of Holly Wheeler (Nell Fisher)'s classmates, goes on a character journey from being the annoying, vulgar “Dipsh*t Derek” to becoming a key player in the plot to save Hawkins from Vecna, the Upside Down, and the US military. Derek even reclaims his name, asserting to his fellow schemers that he is now actually “Delightful Derek.”
“[The cast, creators, and crew] really did make me feel at home, like I'd been there since season one,” says Jake, who, along with Nell, is one of the two new starring cast members this season. Though he hasn't been around for long, the character of Derek has already made an impact.
Below, find out how Jake Connelly nabbed this role, what he told his IRL classmates about the series, and the advice Jamie Campbell Bower (who plays Vecna) gave him on set about staying grounded.
Jake Connelly: It's kind of bittersweet seeing a great show like this come to an end, and seeing all our hard work accumulating into one huge, amazing finale.
JC: Yeah, I actually was. A couple of years before I got cast, my family and I, we would always watch an episode of the show before we went to bed, and we kind of binge-watched the whole thing in one year.
JC: I have to say, I did love Steve [Joe Keery]. The character arc was just so amazing, seeing him [go] from the stereotypical jock into a loving, caring person.
JC: It was crazy. Seeing all these big names that I've seen onscreen before — just amazing to see them, and how they have… just the real people behind that screen.
JC: I actually started acting a few years ago, and did a couple Windows commercials…. My mom's friend directs Windows commercials here in Chicago, so he was like, “Hey, I need a kid who looks like Jake to be in one of our commercials, and does he want to do it?” And we were like, “You know what? Why not? Let's just take a chance on it.”
I fell in love with it. We got some headshots from my cousin, and one thing led to another. We got signed on with the talent agency and we got all these auditions, and one of them was Stranger Things.
One night we had a tornado warning — actually, we were in the basement. Our talent agency asked us to hop on a call, and we were like, “We don't got anything better to do.” We're just sitting in the basement waiting it out, and we got on, and everybody from the agency was on there and they just went to us, “Jake, you're going to Hawkins.”
JC: I was so happy. I don't think I've ever felt that much adrenaline in my entire life.
JC: I just think that having everybody help me out at the table read, helping me discover how I should be able to act out my character…. Reading the scripts, [it's] amazing to see how the character shifts and changes, and that really helped me be able to act it well.
JC: I think it felt so great because, when we got the audition, I thought it was just going to be an extra, side-part role, and we were like, “You know what, why not?” We never thought we were going to be able to do this. But being able to come there and see all the scripts, being able to come to Atlanta and film this, it was just amazing, seeing how much of a main player Derek could become, and how much of a different person.
JC: I wasn't able to do that until, probably, about halfway through filming. So I just told them I was doing a mayonnaise documentary.
JC: Not really. “Mayonnaise documentary” is a really good dead-end point if you're asking too many questions.
JC: Yeah. I just get random people coming up to me at school every day and they're like, “Jake, what's up?” I think it's so awesome. I never really thought that I'd be able to make it big, Hollywood style.
JC: I loved talking with Jamie Campbell Bower, who plays Vecna. It's so amazing how he's just the nicest person in real life, but the minute he shifts into that character and gets that Vecna voice on, it's absolutely terrifying.
JC: We saw him out chilling near a dumpster when we were on location at a hotel, and my dad and I were out on a walk and he said, “What's up, guys?” And he gave us some advice and said, “Keep your head screwed on straight and don't let yourself touch the clouds.”
JC: It was really nice to just have someone my own age to connect with on the show. [We] played games in the schoolroom and just [had] fun together. It was really great to have someone my own age instead of just a whole bunch of being alone.
JC: It was just amazing. Even filming it, the amount of practical effects that went into it, people were getting actually lit on fire! There were explosions, people flying across the whole field on wires. It was so amazing to see, and I even got to stay up till two in the morning working.
JC: I feel like... I do get a little bit more nervous beforehand, but once I get out there, it's just really nice being behind the camera. I feel like I'm just letting everything out, letting out all my emotions all at once.
JC: We always had at least three hours of school each day, and four or five hours if I was banking to have extra hours that I could use in case we went overtime for filming. It was amazing just being able to go from the acting straight back to school. I think it really helped me keep myself grounded, instead of getting stage fright.
JC: Actually, the one scene in the barn, in episode four, when I was up in the hayloft yelling things down at Erica and Robin, I was just improvising. They said, “Say anything that comes to mind to yell down at them.” I just had a whole bunch of ideas and started spouting them out.
JC: Yeah. I feel like anybody who really wants to be an aspiring actor, it's not just luck and it's not just natural-born talent. It's really just [that] having that practice in you is a great way to be able to do great things, and all you really need is opportunity and preparation and you're good.
JC: I have to say, going back to that military scene, it was so fun because I'd never gotten to eat that late before. They had a whole bunch of pizzas up, and it was just amazing.
JC: I actually did get to keep the prop glasses as well as my lunchbox, which was pretty awesome to see.
JC: Yeah, it gave me a sense of nostalgia for a time that I'd never actually experienced. My mom was always yelling at her screen, “Hey, that's my Trapper Keeper!” when we were watching it for the first time…. [My parents] grew up in the ’80s and they were like, “Oh my goodness, it's so amazing to be able to be transported back in time.”
JC: I'm very excited for all my friends and family to be able to see me up on the big screen, and I just think that's amazing. I never thought that everybody would be so supportive of me through every move I make.
JC: I think the fans will probably be pleased, and I'm just hoping that everybody loves it.
JC: I feel like everybody around me really helps me feel like I do have control over my life, and I really like having that. Just having support[ive], trusted adults around you is a great tool to help you feel like you do have power.
JC: It just feels... I just never thought... This is the stuff of a dream for me, walking the red carpet at the Chinese theater in Hollywood. I never thought that I'd be able to have that level of classic Hollywood. It feels like something straight out of the cartoons.
JC: Well, I've been doing some football lately. Just finished our season a couple of weeks ago. I'm really glad to have a team like that. It's really good for character building, just having everybody be so together in a tight-knit team. One weak link and you're out.
JC: I play on the line. I'm a right tackle on the outside, and I'm on the inside on defense.
JC: Being from Chicago, it's impossible not to love the Chicago Bears. Not only [when they're] having a good season.
