Stranger Things is not exactly short on slamming the nostalgia button like a rat with a food lever. The Netflix series doubled down on looking to the past by casting Sean Astin (The Goonies, Lord of the Rings), Paul Reiser (Aliens, The Paul Reiser Show), and RadioShack (ask your parents). The news, along with character descriptions, was provided to EW and The Hollywood Reporter.
Perhaps most significant to the show is the least-heralded of the new cast. Linnea Berthelsen, a Danish actress without significant screen credits, will play Roman. Netflix saysshe’s “an emotionally damaged, magnetic young woman who suffered a great loss as a child. Although she does not live in Hawkins, she is mysteriously connected to the supernatural events at the lab…”
Reiser will play the possible new villain of the show. His Dr. Owens is “a high-ranking member within the Department of Energy on a ‘clean-up’ assignment, tasked with containing the events of last year.”
Last but not least, Sean Astin will play the manager of RadioShack. His Bob Newby is “a kindhearted former nerd who went to high school with Joyce (Winona Ryder) and Hopper (David Harbour) and now manages the local Hawkins RadioShack.” So, some analysis. Berthelsen emerges as the early consensus for new fan favorite. Especially given that Eleven will likely not be present for much of the early season, Berthelsen will be written in a way that makes people want to make gifs of her. Astin's character will likely stand in for all the nerds that love it when you slip in a sly E.T. reference. He will most likely have developed some nice-guy-type feelings for Winona Ryder that he felt were unfairly unreturned. And maybe he'll get some character development and maybe he'll learn something. Heck, maybe we'll all learn something.
Last but not least, Sean Astin will play the manager of RadioShack. His Bob Newby is “a kindhearted former nerd who went to high school with Joyce (Winona Ryder) and Hopper (David Harbour) and now manages the local Hawkins RadioShack.” So, some analysis. Berthelsen emerges as the early consensus for new fan favorite. Especially given that Eleven will likely not be present for much of the early season, Berthelsen will be written in a way that makes people want to make gifs of her. Astin's character will likely stand in for all the nerds that love it when you slip in a sly E.T. reference. He will most likely have developed some nice-guy-type feelings for Winona Ryder that he felt were unfairly unreturned. And maybe he'll get some character development and maybe he'll learn something. Heck, maybe we'll all learn something.