Millie Bobby Brown’s ‘Perfect’ opportunity to finally do some real acting
When Stranger Things first took the world by storm, everyone wondered what the younger cast members would do once the series had wrapped. Well, the show has gone on for so long that we’ve actually got a glimpse of that before the final episode has even aired. Lucky us.
While the likes of Finn Wolfhard, Sadie Sink, and Noah Schnapp have gone on to have strong careers, it’s impossible to argue that the biggest star the show has made isn’t Millie Bobby Brown.
The Englishwoman first burst onto the scene at age 12, playing the physically gifted de facto protagonist of the show, Eleven. Her prominent role in one of the biggest TV shows on the planet has afforded more than her fair share of opportunities, and she has grasped them all with both hands. She’s put her stamp on films like Damsel, The Electric State, and the ‘Enola Holmes’ series, raising her profile even further and making a boatload of cash for a certain streaming site.
At the time of writing, Brown is still in her early 20s. It seems preposterous to judge somebody’s acting career this early on, but given that she has been in the public eye for almost half of her life, observers can’t help but make comments. It has been pointed out by many publications – this one included – that she isn’t the most interesting of actors. Her projects feel incredibly safe, designed solely to play off her popularity to rake in cash for the big red N. However, her next big undertaking might just be the one to change that.
As reported by Deadline, Brown has signed on to play Olympic gymnast Kerri Strug in an upcoming biopic, working title ‘Perfect’. According to the announcement, The Last Showgirl director Gia Coppola is set to oversee the project, with Tigers screenwriter Ronnie Sandahl attached to pen the screenplay. While the project is still in its infancy, it’s already being speculated that Brown’s spiritual home, Netflix, is in talks to distribute the finished product.
This could be Brown’s chance to really get stuck into an engaging project, as Strug has quite the story. As part of the so-called ‘Magnificent Seven’ group of female gymnasts who represented the United States at the 1996 Summer Olympics. She famously injured her ankle during an attempted vault, but powered through the pain to help cinch gold for her team and country. These heroics made her a national celebrity and even landed her a spot on Saturday Night Live.
All the pieces are here for Brown to take her career to the next level. She’s playing a recognisable figure with an in-built narrative, directed by a rising star and a member of one of the most significant lineages in cinema history. This is the sort of combination that has produced very successful results in the past – Oscar-flavoured results. We might be getting ahead of ourselves here, but stranger things (pun fully intended) have happened.
Even Brown herself has claimed that being stuck in Eleven’s orbit is harming her career. She can’t keep running on the Netflix wheel forever and she seems keen to try out new things. I for one wish her nothing but the best of luck.
