Natalia made an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon (August 11). She talked Stranger Things with Jimmy and Megan Thee Stallion!
Public Appearances > Appearances from 2022 > August 11: “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon”
Category: Interviews
Natalia was photographed and interviewed for Behind the Blinds magazine. Take a look at the stunning photos below!
Photoshoots > Photoshoots from 2022 > Session 004
Magazine Scans > Magazines from 2022 > Behind the Blinds (2022)
Magazine Scans > Magazines from 2022 > Behind the Blinds (2022)
COMING OF AGE
Natalia Dyer is drawn to characters who are still figuring it out. This Spring, she returns to her biggest role to date as precocious big sister Nancy Wheeler in Season 4 of Netflix’s hit supernatural thriller Stranger Things. The 27-year-old promises that the next season will be bigger than ever. But whether she’s playing Nancy, fiercely taking on the Demogorgon, or Alice in Yes, God, Yes, discovering female pleasure for the first time, Dyer’s teenage characters are in a state of flux. She likes playing girls and young women who are allowed to grow and be messy and have flaws. Meanwhile, fame is the biggest adjustment Dyer herself has had to make as she navigates her 20s. Negotiating boundaries has been a learning process, but one that she seems to be taking in her stride.
We caught up with her to talk about Stranger Things, female stories and coming of age.
Season 4 of Stranger Things came out in May. It’s been a while since you started filming before the pandemic. What are you most excited for people to see when it comes out?
I am really excited about the new cast members we have this season. I think they do such an excellent job. I feel like I say this every season, but I think this one is our biggest, darkest, scariest season so far. The scale of it is bigger. It feels more all-encompassing. This season, there are lots of different storylines going on. It really stretches what we’re familiar with. I hope people like it.You must have grown quite close to your character, Nancy, over the years. I read that you relish the moments in the script where you get to see inside her character’s mind. Do we learn anything new about Nancy in season 4? Are there any moments where we see a new side to her or a new depth of character?
I think so. She’s definitely still Nancy. She’s still curious. There are some soft moments as well. It is a crazy season with lots of things going on, but I always get to know her a little bit better. I hope that comes across as well despite all the madness that a show like ours can do.
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In 2016, Americans and beyond were terrified by a looming, evil presence on their television screens… And no, I’m not talking about Donald Trump at the presidential debates, but rather the diabolical “Demogorgon” on Netflix’s runaway smash hit, Stranger Things—the show we all binge-watched (and rewatched) this year.
Hearkening back to the nostalgic Steven Spielberg-era family horror of the ‘80s, Stranger Things became, ironically, the least strange and most comforting escape in a world gone mad when it premiered on the streaming service over the summer. Its cast of endearing, relatable kids anchored the show’s otherwise dark and conspiratorial premise with a sense of levity and heart. Natalia Dyer was one of those kids—or rather, teenager.
Playing Nancy Wheeler, the high school-aged big sis to Mike, the Eleven-crushin’, Dungeons and Dragons player trying to unravel the mystery of his disappeared friend, Dyer’s character started off as the typical vision of any early ‘80s cinematic coming-of-age teen girl: an eye-rolling, boy obsessed princess caught between the worlds of popularity and authentic friendship. Facing incredible danger, however, Nancy quickly evolved into one of the show’s most badass feminist players alongside Winona Ryder’s desperate, relentless Joyce Byers and Millie Bobby Brown’s fierce fan-favorite Eleven.
Below, the Nashville-bred, New York-based actress and I converse about what it was like landing her life-changing gig, getting caught up on ‘80s cinema (a decade she never personally experienced), learning how to navigate the industry with grace thanks to a certain iconic co-star, and, of course, justice for Barb.
Natalia Dyer is straddling two worlds right now.
In one, she’s a 19-year-old student at NYU — she’s studying at the Gallatin School of Individualized Study, where she explains her focus as “looking at semiotics, language, and art and how they interact with each other.” But in the other, she’s one of the stars of Stranger Things, the Netflix show that blends the great high school films of the ‘80s with the horror movies from the same decade — oh, and includes a terrifying monster from an alternate reality known as the Upside Down.
Her character, older sister Nancy Wheeler, has a lot to deal with. High school is never easy; imagine what it would be like if your best friend and your brother’s best friend both went missing. And imagine navigating college while also planning to film the second season of a hit show.
Which reality is the Upside Down? That’s for you to decide. And so far, Natalia and Nancy are both handling it all just fine. Teen Vogue caught up with the actress to talk about how her character turns a classic ‘80s trope on its head, what she’s learned from costar Winona Ryder, and what she hopes to explore when we return to Hawkins, Indiana.
