" The entire process of becoming Vecna was a workday in itself, with the prosthetics taking eight hours to apply, and a further two hours to remove after filming was completed.
How long did it take to apply everything? It was a seven-hour application on Jamie every day. I think we got it down to about six hours and 20 minutes—that was the quickest.
All told, Jamie shot for 25 days and every day involved the same elaborate process.
From vocals to make-up, here's everything Jamie Campbell Bower did to become Vecna in Stranger Things season 4.
Jamie Campbell Bower revealed how he managed to pee while in his Vecna costume. Stranger Things' dreaded villain Vecna aka Henry aka 001 is played by an exceptional Jamie Campbell Bower, who went through an 8-hour transformation to mould into character.
" The entire process of becoming Vecna was a workday in itself, with the prosthetics taking eight hours to apply, and a further two hours to remove after filming was completed.
Vecna isn't as terrifying in the bathroom. Actor Jamie Campbell Bower, who played the complicated villain in “Stranger Things 4,” revealed that his terrifying Freddy Krueger-esque full-body prosthetics included a “flap” for him to use the restroom without getting out of costume.
Vecna was the original child studied by Dr. Brenner and the son of Victor Creel. He's the infamous Number One, but had his powers blocked and worked as an aide in the Hawkins National Lab.
Originally appearing in the Greyhawk campaign setting, Vecna was described as a powerful wizard who became a lich. He was eventually destroyed, and his left hand and left eye were the only parts of his body to survive.
After taunting her with incessant chiming from a grandfather clock and appearing before her in hallucinations, Vecna eventually kills her in an incredibly gruesome way. First, she went into a trance with her eyes rolling into her head, then she began to levitate before her eyes were removed and bones were snapped.
A 1959 flashback in the mid-season 4 finale reveals a 12-year-old One (Jamie Campbell Bower). That puts One, a.k.a. Vecna, as 24 when Eleven was born.
The first image Gower shared was of the makeup test for Vecna where he confirmed that is indeed actor Jamie Campbell Bower under that scary face.
The expert scored 3 Emmys for outstanding prosthetics makeup on Game of Thrones, and most recently became the recipient of another Emmy for his work on Stranger Things' Vecna. Since Vecna was a human trapped in a parallel world, he had to resemble a man while still emulating the look of many Upside Down creatures.
This is a reference to the D&D character Vecna, for whom this Vecna is named; the D&D Vecna has a monstrous hand infused with dark magic. The design of Vecna's hand is also a nod to Freddy Krueger, the Nightmare on Elm Street villain who had a huge influence on this season in general.
Played by Jamie Campbell Bower, each prosthetic was glued to his skin with medical adhesive by prosthetics designer Barrie Gower and his team. For the finishing touch, Vecna was covered in "glossy slime to make him really, really glossy and wet looking," according to Gower.
However, within the red smoke of Vecna's Mind Lair, it wasn't the song itself that saved her, but the memories it conjured up. What broke through to Max was the happy, loving memories of her friends, particularly Lucas and Eleven, and these were what truly allowed her to break free of Vecna's grasp and escape.
While intending to get his revenge on Eleven and Brenner, Vecna also goes after victims who have dealt with traumatizing experiences in the past (reminiscent of his childhood and his time at the Hawkins lab).
Realizing he had tremendous psychic power, he haunted his family with visions before ultimately killing most of them. His father was framed for the murders and locked away in a mental hospital as a disturbed serial killer. Henry then found himself in the care of Brenner, who decided he wanted more kids like the boy.
According to Henry Creel, he was brought to Dr. Brenner when his mother caught on to his mysterious psychic powers.
What Does Vecna Want? Vecna's goal is to open as many gates to the Upside Down as he can, in order to help the Mind Flayer.
His first victim was Chrissy Cunningham. Vecna targeted Chrissy by using her depression and eating disorder against her in his visions. Chrissy was killed in Eddie Munson's trailer, and the first gate was opened on the ceiling.
Remember also that we have evidence that powers can be inherited -- El inherited her powers from Terri Ives, for example. So it stands to reason that Henry inherited his powers from one of his parents.
After inflicting protracted suffering, Vecna finally executes the victim, using his powers to make them levitate before snapping their limbs and gouging out their eyes.
This also perfectly explains why Vecna's Upside Down spot is the Creel House. It is the place where he discovered his “purpose” and he can hang out there with his deadly spiders and gain strength from taking lives.
In the D&D realm, a defining feature of Vecna is that he's missing his left hand and left eye. This is because his trusted accomplice, Kas the Bloody-Handed, betrayed him and used the sword Vecna created himself to chop off his left hand and remove his left eye.