ET spoke with the breakout star of season 4 at the Newport Beach Film Festival.
Nearly four months after Joseph Quinn broke out as Eddie Munson on season 4 of Stranger Things, the actor is reflecting on the fan-favorite new character’s demise, which left audiences devastated at the time -- and some still not over it. While speaking with ET’s Matt Cohen at the Newport Beach Film Festival, the actor says, "I think it was the right way for Eddie to go."
On the Netflix series, Quinn played an older high school student obsessed with Dungeons & Dragons who found himself caught up in the mysterious murders haunting Hawkins, Indiana. And much like Barb (Shannon Purser), Bob (Sean Astin) and Alexei (Alec Utgoff) before him, Eddie quickly became a beloved new addition to the ongoing Upside Down saga before his untimely demise in the finale.
However, the character at least got a worthwhile exit, with Eddie sacrificing himself to save Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo) by fighting off a group of demobats with an epic Metallica guitar solo. Proving he wasn’t a coward, Dustin told Eddie's uncle that his friend died a hero.
Looking back on his short, but standout, time on the series, "It’s an extraordinary thing, I think, to be involved in something that has this effect on the zeitgeist," Quinn says. "It’s a very rare thing in a career and I feel very lucky to be a part of that and how gracious people have been towards Eddie."
One such example is the way Quinn became emotional over a fan’s reaction to his character. During a meet and greet during the London Film & Comic Con over the summer, they expressed their profound thanks for his performance, leaving the actor in tears.
Previously, he told ET about the “completely overwhelming feeling” of having so many of the series’ longtime fans’ support. “It’s so lovely, like, the devotion that fans have for this show and how they’ve found space in their heart for a new character… It’s just so heartwarming,” he said. "The fact [that] we put it out there and it’s been so well received and, obviously, personally, like, for the character that I played, for people to be so welcoming, it feels like a big exhale.”
At the film festival, Quinn was also asked about comments from his co-stars, Millie Bobby Brown and Maya Hawke, who both said that Stranger Things should be willing to kill off more of the regular characters. "They’re spinning so many plates with how many characters they got," Quinn responds, referring to the creators, The Duffer Brothers. "I think they’ve really got their work cut out for them next season."
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