Before Jamie Campbell Bower began portraying the murderous Vecna in “Stranger Things,” he appeared in two iconic film franchises.
Bower, 37, played Caius in several films from “The Twilight Saga.” His character was a ruthless leader of a coven of vampires called the Volturi. Bower was just 21 when “The Twilight Saga: New Moon” came out in 2009.
One year later, the English actor took on another villainous part, playing a young version of the dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald in “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1.” He reprised the role in the 2018 film “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald.”
You could blink and miss Bower’s appearance in “The Deathly Hallows,“ which he joked about during a fan event in March.
“The only time you see me is when I’m stealing the Elder Wand and jumping out of the window. And I remember [director] David Yates coming up to me as we were filming that one scene — that one scene is my one day of work — and David goes, ‘Do you think you want to stunt double?’” Bower said. “And I was like, ‘David, if you have a stunt double, I’m not going to be in your film. So, no, I don’t want a stunt double. I want to be in your film, G–damnit.’”
Bower was briefly engaged to “Harry Potter” star Bonnie Wright, who played Ginny Weasley. The pair ended their engagement in 2012.
READ MORE: See the ‘Stranger Things’ cast ages, from season 1 to season 5
In addition to the “Twilight” and “Harry Potter” franchises, Bower has appeared in films including “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” (Anthony Hope) and “The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones” (Jace Wayland).
Bower’s “Stranger Things” character, Vecna, may be a monstrous humanoid creature who lives in the Upside Down, but he has a human backstory. He was born Henry Creel, a boy with psychic and psychokinetic abilities.
During a February fan event in Orlando, Bower recalled telling his therapist that he wants a break from playing villains after “Stranger Things.”
“I just don’t think I’ll be doing another bad guy for a minute. Like, it f–s me up. I’m dead serious,” he said, per People. “It’s been amazing, and it’s been an incredible journey to join the show from season 4, to be part of something that so many people love and something that I loved as well and still love. But I definitely am ready to hang up the foam latex and wish [Vecna] a slippery farewell.”
The fifth and final season of “Stranger Things” kicked off on Nov. 26. Parts 2 and 3 will premiere on Netflix on Dec. 25 and Dec. 31, respectively.
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