Sadie Sink talks Shakespeare, Stranger Things and joining the Marvel Universe
Sadie Sink has fast become one of Hollywood’s most in-demand young actors. Speaking to EE72, she reflects on life after Stranger Things, the emotional intensity of Shakespeare on the West End stage in Romeo and Juliet, and her next move into the Marvel universe with Spider-Man: Brand New Day.
If Sadie Sink were to rest on her laurels, we wouldn’t blame her. At age 14, the Texan joined the cast of one of the most-watched English-language shows in Netflix’s history: Stranger Things. She made an icon out of her unruly, sarcastic, bold on-screen counterpart Max Mayfield, and joined Finn Wolfhard, Millie Bobby Brown, Caleb McLaughlin, Gaten Matarazzo and Noah Schnapp in leading the 80s sci-fi epic towards triumph – 3.7 million households in the US alone tuned in to the show’s New Year’s Day finale this year. In the episode Chapter Four: Dear Billy, Sadie gave arguably one of the most memorable performances in the show, one that was responsible for resurrecting Kate Bush’s iconic 80s hit Running Up That Hill (Deal With God), and landing it atop streaming charts globally in 2022.
The success is hard to compare to much else. It’s the sort of unfathomable experience Miley Cyrus or Selena Gomez might have had at the height of their Disney stardom. But, much like those women, the 23-year-old is set on pushing herself further. “Working is a good distraction from it,” she chuckles from her London apartment, explaining how she’s been processing the show’s end.
Director Robert Icke’s Romeo and Juliet is the first stop. There, Sink’s been trying her hand at Shakespeare for the first time, breathing new life into the playwright’s famed leading lady. Until her untimely demise, Sink’s Juliet slowly awakens from a groggy slumber, with passion and love igniting her internal flame. Against the backdrop of London’s Harold Pinter Theatre in the West End, Sink, joined by Hamnet’s Noah Jupe as Juliet’s doomed love Romeo, puts on a hypnotising performance.
It’s clear Sink is truly at home on the stage. Her first-ever acting gigs were in theatre, the most “explosive” being those where she performed alongside her brother Mitchell. At age 11, she even performed in the 2012 Broadway revival of Annie as the titular character. That passion for the stage has rubbed off on the masses. Romeo and Juliet is experiencing such exceptional demand that it’s officially been extended to run until June 20th, with the likes of Zendaya, Tom Holland and Ian McKellen spotted in the stalls so far.
If you aren’t lucky enough to snag tickets to see Sink on the West End, don’t fret. Her work doesn’t end there. Sink has also swapped out one supernatural universe for another, as she joins Tom Holland and Zendaya in the next instalment of their Spider-Man saga, Spider-Man: Brand New Day. With her character in the film shrouded in secrecy, with not even a clear glimpse of Sink in the project’s trailer, there’s no doubt she’ll be diversifying her repertoire with her Marvel debut.
If her on-screen and stage efforts weren’t enough, she’s also been dabbling in work behind the scenes. Before her West End debut, Sink was putting on a Tony-nominated performance in Broadway’s John Proctor is the Villain as student Shelby Holcomb. With the show’s successes following it to London this year, the project is now being adapted into a movie, with Sink slipping into a production role.
We caught up with Sadie in the run-up to her Romeo and Juliet’s debut. Joining us from her London apartment, she talks making London her home with the help of her two cats, unearthing the true depth of Juliet’s character, and why she never really has to say goodbye to Stranger Things.
You’ve been in rehearsals for Romeo and Juliet today. How have they been going?
Today was good. We’re leaving the rehearsal space on Thursday, so we’ve been doing a bunch of runs. Then we start tech [and move into the theatre].
Is practising in your rehearsal space and the theatre two very different experiences?
It gets real once you move into the theatre. You feel like, ‘Oh, okay, we’re going to be doing this for an audience, and I’m out of the safety of a rehearsal room.’
Theatre has been a big part of your journey as an actor. During the early stages of your career, what stage performances were you hooked on?
It started with watching musical theatre bootlegs online with my brother. We loved Wicked, You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, Hairspray, Grease and, obviously, Annie. It started out in that space, but before that, I was a pretty imaginative kid and always had this performer bug in me. I stayed in the musical theatre zone for a while and then, as I got older, transitioned into film and TV. But I knew I wanted to go back to theatre. I love the rehearsal process. I love the repetition of it. It just feels right and challenging in the right way for the stage of my life that I’m in.
What stage performances are you loving at the moment?
I really loved Oedipus and Lesley Manville’s performance in that. It was excellent and really exciting. Then I saw Jodie Comer in Prima Facie. I’d seen it when it was on Broadway a couple of years ago, but she’s on tour with it. She’s such a good performer. Beyond that, I’ve loved reading plays that I haven’t read before. I didn’t go to drama school so there wasn’t a curriculum of plays that I had to read. I’ve been trying to brush up on some plays and they’re also inspiring me.
Have you read much else by Shakespeare?
I’m trying but it’s difficult because he wrote a lot [laughs]. I’ve hit the main ones. I’ve done A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Macbeth. I still need to do Twelfth Night, which is a big one. It’s highly recommended. Even Romeo and Juliet, I feel like I’d read it in high school, but I hadn’t as an adult. I think that’s the case for many people. It’s amazing how much more material there is in the original text that your school might not have touched on, or you weren’t able to comprehend at the time. It’s been really cool to dig into it as deeply as we have.
The play is taking place in London. How do you find being away from home for long periods of time?
I’ve had some time to settle in because the last movie I filmed was here. I’ve been here since the end of July 2025, so I feel at home. It is one of those things you have to get good at as actors. It’s about being very adaptable to going to new places. But I feel like I’ve really settled here, which is nice.
Are there any London spots you love?
Honestly, as of late, I haven’t left my apartment. I like anything on Golborne Road. That’s such a fun street. Other than that, my apartment is great.
Is there anything you keep in your apartment that makes it feel like home?
This time it’s my cats, Pippin and Fifi. Having my cats here is a game-changer. I feel very at home with them here. But before it was the cats, it was just clothing or perfume.
What does a day in the life of Sadie look like at the moment, with rehearsals?
They’ve definitely gotten more intense in the last two weeks, but in the way that you need them to in order to make the breakthroughs. We’ve had a lot of rehearsal time which is good. With something like Shakespeare, there is the language element you have to tackle first. I’ve never trained in Shakespeare, so I’m just approaching it through a completely fresh lens. It’s intimidating and the reason why I was really hesitant about doing the play. I just thought, ‘Oh, you must have to go to school for that, or this only belongs to a certain calibre of actor if you want to do it right.’ It’s the reason why I started working on it so early with our director, Rob. After getting through the language barrier, there are so many other hurdles. You’re constantly finding more that the material has to offer. It’s kind of brain-exploding, but in a good way.
How are you and Robert working on bringing Juliet into 2026? Have you added any layers or embellishments to her character?
In my early conversations with Rob about Juliet, it wasn’t what I had seen of her in any productions or what you most commonly associate with her. It isn’t that they were wrong in any way, but I think there’s just so much more to her. I wouldn’t say there’s anything modern about our take on her. In the beginning, I envisioned her on the balcony pining over someone. But reading the play with a new perspective was interesting. At the beginning, she’s completely asleep. Falling in love wakes her up and brings out this internal life she’s had festering under the surface. She’s highly emotionally intelligent. There’s a darkness to her and a strangeness to her that would make sense, given her life and family trauma. It’s all written there in the text for you. You find all of this in her soliloquies, which is why Shakespeare has her soliloquise so much. She has such a rich inner world and it takes falling in love and having agency over who she falls in love with to evoke it. I think it is so reflective of what it feels like to fall in love for the first time. Everything’s just heightened.
PHOTOGRAPHY PHILIP GAY
Juliet had such a rich inner world and it takes falling in love and having agency over who she falls in love with to evoke it. I think it is so reflective of what it feels like to fall in love for the first time. Everything’s just heightened
SADIE SINK
Re-imaginings are having a huge moment in 2026, from Wuthering Heights to Pride and Prejudice. As a viewer, are you a purist or do you love a fresh take?
When I’m watching, I think there’s a balance. I want to see something that is accurate, but I’m somewhere in the middle. I never want any kind of gimmicks. But I do love fleshing things out more. I think that speaks to both when I’m watching things or if there’s a production that I want to be in.
Noah Jupe will be playing Romeo in the play. Have there been any defining moments for you both during rehearsals?
Noah and I started doing rehearsals in the fall. We’ve had front-row seats to each other’s growth since our first time cold-reading this material. That’s been an amazing collaboration, and he’s been such a good teammate throughout all of this. He’s never done theatre before and he’s going to do so great. But I’m nervous; we’re all nervous. How could we not be? I’m super excited for him and he’s such a joy to work with. He’s also a child actor, so we have a lot of similarities. I think it says a lot about both of our trajectories that we’re craving this next step in our early 20s, and that we’ve both ended up here in a position where we’re newcomers and very much students. I think we’re very like-minded in that way. This is the time to challenge ourselves. We’re in the same boat.
I think it says a lot about [mine and Noah Jupe’s] trajectories that we’re craving this next step in our early 20s. We’re newcomers and very much students. I think we’re very like-minded in that way. This is the time to challenge ourselves. We’re in the same boat
SADIE SINK
Your career-defining show Stranger Things recently came to an end. How’s life been since then, and how have you gone about shedding your Stranger Things skin?
I guess working is a good distraction from it. I really was super emotional after we wrapped. On our final day of filming, I was just an endless well of tears. Once it was released, it felt like that was the last, final step. It’s been almost 10 years of my life, and I owe everything to that show, the platform and the opportunities it gave me. That character and the people helped shape who I am today. It’s a hard thing to say goodbye to. I don’t think I ever really have to, though, which is the good thing. I said goodbye to being on set, but as far as the character and the impact of the show, that’s something I’m going to take with me forever.
I said goodbye to being on set, but as far as the character and the impact of Stranger Things goes, that’s something I’m going to take with me forever
SADIE SINK
What are you looking forward to next in your career and beyond?
Career-wise, I think I’m at an exciting point. The thing about being a child actor is you risk getting to a point where you wonder if you’re still passionate about it, or if you want to try something different. Luckily for me, I’ve always felt like this is what I want to be doing. But within that, I don’t want to stay in the same scope of projects or characters that I’ve been playing and I recognise that I have so much more to learn. I’m looking forward to chasing more spaces and growing. I think that’s how you move forward in your career with no regrets. And then, life-wise, a vacation at one point would be good. It’s about knowing when to say, ‘I’m going to take a little break for these few months.’ I don’t care [where it is] as long as there’s nothing to do, and a body of water. But we’ll get there when we get there.
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