How Madelyn Cline's Bit Role On Stranger Things Changed Her Life
Madelyn Cline always had her sights set on acting from a young age. On "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon," the comedian mentioned that the young actor got her start in acting by working on a commercial, noting that "a lot of child actors" kickstart their career that way. The late-night talk show host then showed a small bit of a Chuck E. Cheese commercial to the audience as Cline hid her face in embarrassment.
She then started to land small guest star roles in popular television shows. She portrayed Tina in "Stranger Things," a popular girl who was friends with Steve Harrington. She appeared in two episodes during Season 2 of the show — "MADMAX" and "Trick Or Treat, Freak."
The "Glass Onion" actor also starred in three episodes of Season 4 of "The Originals." She played Jessica, a French Quarter witch. She ultimately dies in the spinoff series. Although Cline's role in "Outer Banks" is her claim to fame, she actually credits her smaller roles in "Stranger Things" and "The Originals" as the reason she became a full-time actor.
Madelyn Cline decided to pursue acting full-time after starring in Stranger Things
In an interview with Schön!, Madelyn Cline reminisced on the moment she realized she wanted to pursue a career in acting. "I was in college driving back and forth from Myrtle Beach to Atlanta to work on 'The Originals' and 'Stranger Things,'" she said. "I realized that something had to give." She added that, although she wanted to continue her studies in school, she knew she needed to at least give acting full-time a shot, so she dropped out, packed up her car, and traveled to Los Angeles.
Once Cline got to Los Angeles, she admitted that it was frightening because of the stiff competition with other wannabe actors. "I realized there are thousands of me," she told Flaunt. "And that was really scary."
But Cline proved that hard work and a lot of motivation pays off, as she soon booked the role of Sarah Cameron in the hit Netflix show "Outer Banks," which ended up being her breakthrough role. She then went on to play the role of Whiskey in "Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery" alongside Daniel Craig, Kathryn Hahn, Edward Norton, and Kate Hudson. And at the same time, one of her "Outer Banks" co-stars was in the same boat as her when it came to his acting career.
Chase Stokes was also in an episode of Stranger Things
"Outer Banks" star Chase Stokes revealed to Access Hollywood that he auditioned for the role of Steve Harrington in "Stranger Things" — and he completely failed. "I forgot all the lines and absolutely effed up the audition," he said, admitting that he "regretted every moment of his life" when messing up. But he believes the show made the right decision, saying that Joe Keery is "damn good" in the role.
Stokes was still able to land a guest starring role on the show, though. He played Reed, and was in one episode of Season 1 of the Netflix show. He shouts one line as he drives away from Jonathan Byers.
It was reported that Stokes originally turned down his breakthrough role — John Booker Routledge, aka John B. — in "Outer Banks" because he thought the show was going to be a "Goonies" reboot. It was noted that Rudy Pankow auditioned for his co-star's role before he was cast as JJ Maybank. But, in the end, it clearly turned out great for Stokes.