Stranger Things' Matthew Modine says he did everything to protect Millie Bobby Brown from being 'destroyed' by fame
Matthew Modine has spoken of how he feels 'protective' of Millie Bobby Brown
They may not have the healthiest father-daughter relationship on-screen but when the cameras aren't rolling, Stranger Things star Matthew Modine has been keeping an eye out for his young co-star Millie Bobby Brown.
In the supernatural Netflix series, Modine plays Dr Brenner, or 'Papa' as far as Eleven is concerned, and has been working closely with Bobby Brown since she was just 12-years-old.
When Stranger Things became an overnight success, Modine watched Bobby Brown shoot to worldwide stardom - which has got to be a huge life adjustment for anyone, let alone a pre-teen.
Feeling very 'protective' of his on-screen daughter, Modine has been doing everything in his power to prevent Bobby Brown, now 18, from being 'destroyed' by fame.
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Speaking about his co-star on The Jonathan Ross Show, which is set to air this Saturday, 19 November, Modine explained: "What she was exposed to - and what all the children on this show were exposed to - was a kind of fame and popularity and notoriety that ever existed in the entertainment industry.
"Over the course of my career, the young actors and actresses whose lives were destroyed by that kind of fame and money and everything... It can be very destructive and disorienting."
He continued: "I just wanted to do everything I could to make sure she was safe and she understood that a career is a roller coaster, that there's ups and downs to it."
Wearing a knitted jumper with the word 'Papa' stitched across it - very on-brand - Modine shared Ross' sofa with Craig David, Josh Jones, Oti Mabuse and Katherine Ryan.
Luckily, the Stranger Things kids are surrounded by a host of top-notch actors who have been there, done that, and are helping them to navigate fame as the sci-fi series gets more and more popular.
Winona Ryder, who plays Joyce Byers in the show and knows a thing or two about being a child star, has also been taking Bobby Brown and the other younger actors (Finn Wolfhard, Caleb McLaughlin, Noah Schnapp, Sadie Sink and Gaten Matarazzo) under her wing.
Speaking to Harper's Bazaar earlier in the year, series creator Ross Duffer explained that Ryder "talked to the kids about
what celebrity is like and how the press can be and the anxiety and confusion that comes along with celebrity."
He continued: "I think she's really helped them. I know she's specifically helped Millie a lot to work through that. And that's something that no one else can help with, really, because so few people have experienced it.
"It's not something I understand. It's not something that, you know, even a parent would understand."
Topics: Millie Bobby Brown, Stranger Things, Film and TV, Netflix, Celebrity
Ali Condon