Sadie Sink almost lost the role of Max in Stranger Things due to her age

5 August 2022, 12:47

Stranger Things Cast vs. 'The Most Impossible Stranger Things Quiz' | PopBuzz Meets

By Katie Louise Smith

"I just begged and pleaded with them to give me more material so I could show them something fresh."

Loading audio...

Stranger Things? Without Sadie Sink as Max Mayfield? Almost impossible to imagine, right?

Sadie first stepped onto our screens as Max way back in season 2, when she arrived in Hawkins after relocating from California. She quickly got caught up in the Upside Down shenanigans, and eventually joined the party, became besties with Eleven and started dating Lucas. Thanks to Sadie, Max is now one of the most popular characters on the show.

But it could have all been very different if Sadie hadn't "begged" producers to let her take on the role... Initially, Sadie was passed over for the role of Max because she was deemed "too old" to play her.

Sadie Sink almost lost the role of Max in Stranger Things due to her age. Picture: Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty Images, Netflix

In an interview with Fashion Magazine, Sadie opened up about her Stranger Things audition and how she was initially rejected for the role of Max.

Sadie revealed that the casting directors originally thought looked "too old" to portray Max in Stranger Things 2, who would have been around 13 years old when she moved to Hawkins. Sadie herself was 14 when season 2 aired.

"I just begged and pleaded with them to give me more material so I could show them something fresh," Sadie revealed.

Sadie elaborated on the audition process in another interview with Teen Vogue, adding: "I wanna say it took place over a month. I think at one point they thought I was gonna be too old but I was just like, 'No, just gimme more material!' Like I wanna go in again. And then I did, and we did a chemistry read and I got there and we were all the same height and the same age and they had nothing to worry about."

The day after her chemistry read with Caleb McLaughlin and Gaten Matarazzo, Sadie was told she had got the part.

Sadie Sink was originally deemed "too old" to play Max in Stranger Things 2. Picture: Netflix

Despite being initially being considered "too old" for Max, Sadie is not the oldest member amongst the younger cast.

Sadie turned 20 years old in April 2022, while her co-stars Gaten and Finn Wolfhard both turn 20 in September and December, respectively. Meanwhile, Caleb McLaughlin, who is the oldest, turns 21 in October 2022.