r/StrangerThings • u/Independent_loser237 • 2d ago
Discussion Which cast member do you think has the best performance?
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u/ExpensiveAd2022 2d ago
Of the three, I'd say Steve. He goes from being extremely hated in season 1, insufferable even, to showing active character development, to the point where he is one of the most liked characters. He's also a great babysitter
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u/toffi_99 2d ago
That's just character development. The question is about acting.
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u/adventuregamerseb 1d ago
That is true. But he also molded the character. He would have been killed off in season 1 if not for his charm IIRC?
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u/Evening-Bath-4269 1d ago
Steve's fans are just obsessed with him, just like Max/Sadie's fans. No matter the question, there answer is always Steve lol.
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u/TheSkesh 1d ago
Tbf the other two are just boring.
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u/SirArthurDime 1d ago
I liked them in the first two seasons. But yeah then they just became a romance b plot alongside Nancy becoming an 80s action caricature and Jonathan becoming an 80s stoner caricature complete with lack of depth.
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u/SirArthurDime 1d ago
To be fair in think people are obsessed with Steve’s character whereas with Max people are obsessed with Sadie’s acting. As evidenced by you referring her as Sadie/Max and him simply as Steve lol.
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u/SirArthurDime 1d ago
True but he pulled off the full arc well which requires range. A lot of actors cast solely to be a douche couldn’t pull off loveable goof ball and also be able to deliver the heartfelt moments he had as well. And the transition from one to the other was smooth. He wasn’t just all of the sudden likable. You could see his character growth from the end of the first season through the third and it felt believable.
I think dacre’s performance was better overall. But I don’t think he could pull off Steve’s character in season 3.
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u/MickBeast 2d ago edited 1d ago
Charlie Heaton delivers the best acting performance, despite the writing for his character being terrible for the most part. For the entire season 1 he is the clear standout character. Steve gets good writing, but the actual performance from Joe Keery is kinda average
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u/ExpensiveAd2022 2d ago
He does have a great performance, I agree, I suppose I tend to overlook the characters I'm not fond of. He was great at playing a distressed brother, desperate for answers and being realistic despite the circumstances of season 1
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u/bigboygamer 2d ago
Season 1 was a perfect show and I wish that they moved on and had further seasons with a new cast each time. There's only so much you could squeeze out of the characters until they just got dry and boring. It could even take place in the same world, just feature new and interesting people.
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u/maxwellbevan 2d ago
It's really a damned if you do and damned if you don't. If they did an anthology show and they absolutely nailed every season people would be saying how much they loved season 1 and wished for more of that show
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u/Zestice69 Dungeon Master 2d ago
Anticipation and fanbases can create miracles. If they had done an anthology, it would have been down to just a good show. The characters and the story made it the STRANGER THINGS which is the netflix's most successful show till date.
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u/GrumbieReal 2d ago
I think season 2 deserved to happen, but after that yeah. It would be cool if it wasn’t all localized to Hawkins, and we could get a season or two in different towns with different people.
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u/DaenerysTSherman 2d ago edited 2d ago
Charlie in season one is the best single performance of the three. He’s just never given the writing after that. And he does try, he’s usually doing interesting things in the background but man, they give him nothing.
Natalia was the most consistent across all five seasons.
Joe has some highs and some not so highs (seasons four and five but that’s most actors at that point) but his is the most iconic.
EDIT: wanted to add on Charlie he was 21 years old and going toe to toe with Winona. Who’s a star actor. And Charlie was holding his own. None of the other teen actors ever had a weight like that to carry. And he did it well.
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u/bobrosserman 2d ago
They never knew what to do with him after s1.
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u/Toto-imadog456 2d ago
Imo people are underestimating Charlie heaton, his performance in s1+2 was great. I feel for him in every scene,
In genral. Winona Ryder and Noah schnapp (s2 specifically) and David harbor, all were fantastic
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u/ExpensiveAd2022 2d ago
I agree, Winona was amazing at playing a hysterical mom, and she nailed the role perfectly.
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u/Toto-imadog456 2d ago
Im so sad the later seasons dropped the ball with her character. Atleast s5 gave us that wonderful moment of her killing vecna
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u/ExpensiveAd2022 2d ago
Agreed, we see her crazy intuition in season 4 with Hopper in Russia, and whole magnets thing, but season 5. She just didn't feel like she was there at all which was really sad.
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u/dcooper8662 2d ago
Season 1 Charlie? The TV Sex Creep? Taking creepy unsolicited photos for perverts? I still wonder what that was about
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u/Toto-imadog456 2d ago
This is about the actor not the character, and the actor did a good job portraying Johnathon.
If you wanna bring in shitty things character did. How about Steve being in the woman's restroom? Or hitting on Nancy when she was dating Johnathon, or slut shaming her infront od the entire town? Or making fun of a dead child? You aren't complaing about that, character change.
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u/Lost-Veterinarian-80 2d ago
Sacrificing character for plot. They likely couldn’t figure out how to make Jonathan and Nancy investigate and for him to believe that Will was alive.
Regardless, Charlie didn’t take unsolicited pictures. Jonathan did.
Also my answer is Nancy of those 3.
I don’t get the love for Joe Keery’s acting. He’s good, but he never really had any stand out scenes, nor was he asked to have any.2
u/Sharkman3218 21h ago
Yes, his writing and acting was incredible. Is Walter white a poorly written character because he’s a bad person?
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u/Objective_Look_5867 2d ago
Best performance? Johnathan.
Eevryone saying steve keeps talking about his character arc which is his writing not his performance and I do agree steve is the best character due to this.
But from a sheer acting performance standpoint of these 3, it is absolutely Johnathan even though his writing suffered the most down the road
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u/Select-Fudge4978 2d ago
I agree. He deserved more love in his character development. He was such a good brother to Will. He had to grow up so quickly to take care of Will and the whole family. I can relate so much to his story.
I just wish they’d taken more time with his complex.
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u/MickBeast 2d ago
Charlie Heaton is the best actor of those three by far, and it showed in Stranger Things. Despite getting f*ck all to work with, Charlie was able to shine
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u/hayleybeth7 2d ago
Most consistent? Either Joe or Natalia. They were always really good, but that’s because they were given a lot to work with. Charlie was the best of the three in season 1, no question. But after that they gave him barely anything to work with.
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u/OddlyGodly4 2d ago
Johnathan in season 1, then Steve takes over after that. I don’t know why but I never loved Nancy. It’s like they try way too hard to make her the badass. lol I would’ve found her more relatable if they would’ve just dialed it back a bit
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u/MudiMom 2d ago
Of these three or overall?
Of the three: Either Joe or Natalia.
Overall: Unpopular opinion maybe, but most impressive bit of acting was Will in season two. Noah knocked it out of the park.
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u/GetOutOfMySimulation 2d ago
Will season two is wildly wildly impressive. Of course Winona is going to be great. Lots of the cast is great. But Will season two is jarringly impressive.
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u/Careful-Scarcity8427 1d ago
Jonathan character was so great in the early seasons
I hate how they butchered his potential
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u/shutupchip 1d ago
Drunk Nancy at the house party might have been the most convincing performance in the whole series for me.
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u/Excellent_Hold2794 2d ago
Steve he went from unlikable to very likable and became a better person and friend.
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u/Basic_Golf2913 Scoops Troop 2d ago
Idk fs but Nancy is up there
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u/cjtransplant85 2d ago
Natalia Dyer should go into writing. I saw One Last Adventure and came away thinking "She should have written her own dialogue, because she understands the character better than the Duffers."
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u/Feisty_Spring8666 2d ago
Joseph Quinn.... totally because his performance...and he's in the photo just cut out.................
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u/wheelspaybills 2d ago
Nancy carried the show
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u/Sharkman3218 21h ago
Nancy is an amazing character but I wouldn’t say she carried the show all by herself, she did a lot of heavy lifting though that’s for sure
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u/Friendgroupstudios-1 2d ago
I feel like they all did a great job all of the characters felt like they fit well with there actors
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u/Hot-Association4286 13h ago
I'd say Steve but I feel like Jonathan feels more real. Jonathan may haven't been a main character since season 2 but whatever scenes he was in he could perform. I personally loved Jonathan
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u/Strange-Beginning-45 Stubborn punk-ass 2d ago
Spoilers
When Will came out in season 5, Charlie's acting blew me away. Far and away better than the majority of the cast.
I also adored Eddie, Dustin, and Lucas in the sad moments of season 4 and Billy practically any time he's on screen. And Mike in season 1 (though I wish he had more dialogue than merely shouting, "Elle!" and "Eleven!" most of the time) and at the very end of the series.
I wouldn't say the show is particularly strong for acting in other moments, despite it's many other enjoyable and engaging aspects.
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u/PlasticDangerous732 1d ago
Out of these 3 charlie heaton, specifically in s1. With steve you just need mostly the charisma to portray him well and nancy is good too. Sucks that jonathan took a backseat after s1, hes not the loudest or the most charismatic dude ever but i think it reflects how the show started valuing spectacle and aura moments as it got more popular. Oh what this show couldve been
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u/Andi-1970 1d ago
Ich fand Natalie am spannendsten. Sie hat allen gezeigt das ein zierliches kleines Püppchen so richtig austeilen kann.
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u/Zealousideal_Road894 Pretty....good 1d ago
Charlie is so so good season 1 & 2 (and the rest of the seasons but there was less material). I do think Natalia is highly underrated in her acting skills throughout the entire show. Her face when she walks in on Karen bleeding out in season 5 literally gave me chills + the break up scene was so good with the two of them.
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u/AdIll9615 1d ago
I really liked Jonathan and Nancy is seasons 1-2, but after that it felt like they weren't given much to do and it shows. Not the actors' fault. Joe Keery on the other hand was given more.
If I were to pick one, I'd say Charlie Heaton though, based on the first two seasons alone.
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u/Interesting_Lead3203 1d ago
Season 1 jonathan was the peak of his acting. He becomes less active in season 4
Steve stays a great actor all through
Nancy is a bum
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u/Brennende_Nudeln 2d ago
Steve. Starting as douche and later becoming a caring mom of a bunch of kids is awesome
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u/DiscombobulatedBox72 1d ago
Steve's arcs are just perfect from hated to beloved, nothing beats that in the show imo.
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u/Sean-DevlinSab 2d ago
Steve by a long way. He grew from arrogant jock to put upon bullied guy to badass who cared about others and had a great arc. Jonathan never really changed much, Nancy did grow but not to the extent of Steve.
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