Millie Bobby-Brown Directed Actor Who Played Her Younger Self In Stranger Things 4

Millie Bobby Brown has been hailed an ‘inspiration’ by Martie Blair, the young actress who played the young Eleven in Stranger Things season four’s flashback scenes. 

Writers of the hit Netflix show confirmed last month that Brown actually directed Blair herself in some of this season’s most emotionally fraught scenes, and Blair has since taken to social media to thank Brown. 

Sharing a photo of herself and Brown onset, Blair wrote on Instagram: “Thank you @milliebobbybrown for being such an inspiration to me, when I showed up on set, you came right up to me. You made me feel so comfortable and welcomed. Thanks for spending time with me and helping me make my scenes awesome!”

On 31 May, the show’s writers also shared a photo of Brown and Blair, tweeting: “Shout-out to Martie Blair, who played young Eleven, and to Millie, who directed her every step of the way.”

Season four of the show takes viewers back to the Hawkins National Laboratory, where Eleven was experimented on as a young girl.

Brown, now 18, was just 11-years-old when she started filming the Duffer Brothers’ record-smashing sci-fi show, meaning she’s almost twice the height she was when Stranger Things first aired back in 2016.

For this season’s flashbacks, Brown’s face was superimposed using CGI onto Blair’s, who played Eleven at the age of eight. 

Since the first instalment of season four hit the streaming giant last month, rising star Blair has shared numerous behind-the-scenes snaps on social media, even revealing that she shaved off her hair especially for the role, just like Brown did way back in 2015.

Uploading a clip of her long locks being snipped off, Blair penned: “Haircut day! This day changed me forever! I’m grateful for the experience, I will never forget how I felt after shaving my hair.”

Beneath the actor’s post, one follower asked: “Martie, what was your first thought when they told you that you had to shave your head for this role?” to which the young actor replied: “I knew I would need to do it if I got the part but I was ok with it.”

However, others pointed out that Brown wasn’t required to shave her hair off for season four and instead wore a wig. 

“Omg. Why did they cut her hair? They should have given her a wig like they did Millie this season,” one social media user pointed out. 

Over the weekend, footage of Brown having her hair wrapped and a short wig fitted was shared on Stranger Things’ official Instagram page, however when Brown shot season one she did shave off all her hair. 

Speaking to Access Hollywood at the time, a then 12-year-old Brown revealed the inspiring reason she didn’t find the process at all daunting. 

The actor explained: “For me my hair isn’t my everything, I don’t think it is at all, because there’s girls out there that have alopecia, cancer, terrible, terrible diseases and I can show them that it’s cool to have short hair.”