Sadie Sink Shares Her First Date, Big Purchase & More

My first friend on set, that was Finn.

Even when he was like what, 13, 14.

He was like the coolest kid ever.

Hey, Teen Vogue, I'm Sadie Sink

and today I will be sharing with you some of my firsts.

[upbeat music]

The audition process for Max, ugh.

I wanna say it took place over a month.

I think at one point they thought I was gonna be too old

but I was just like, no, just gimme, gimme more material.

Like I wanna go in again.

And then I did, and we did a chemistry read

and I got there and we were all the same height

and the same age and they had nothing to worry about.

First big stunt I ever did.

On Stranger Things, there's like a scene in season three

where Billy punches me across the face.

Billy, please.

So that was a stunt, I guess,

but the real heavy stunts come in season four.

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The first thing that people get wrong about me.

Probably my age, maybe.

People recognize me from the show

when I was like 14 or 15 on it.

They think somehow they've aged, but I haven't.

But I have.

Oh my God, I was so nervous the first day of shooting.

Being on a TV set as big as Stranger Things

was very intimidating.

The first scene was where I'm in my Michael Myers costume.

And then I jump from the bushes and I scare the kids.

Seriously, I could have seen like a whole bowl of nougat

like straight up.

[kids screaming]

Holy shit, you should have seen the look on your faces.

And you, who screams like that?

You sound like a little girl.

I remember watching season one, like the week it came out

because all my friends were watching it.

I think I watched it in like two days

or something like that.

Like I did not leave my room.

I first watched it like a week before I got the audition.

So that's when I think I got the audition.

I was like this, like, I don't know,

like it was just aligning.

I still feel like every time I hear that theme song,

I go back to like my room on my laptop

when I'm watching season one for the first time.

My first dream that ever came true being on Broadway.

Like that was all that I wanted.

And I was able to do that

when I was like 10 years old, I think.

That was the ultimate dream.

My first show was Annie on Broadway

and Annie was everything,

like I'd watched the eighties version

of Annie with Carol Burnett and Aileen Quinn

over and over and over again.

So to do that on Broadway was like, oh,

it was just, it was everything.

First thing I learned how to cook for myself.

Oh God.

You know, I actually over the pandemic I liked to cook a lot

but prepackaged things are so much easier.

So unfortunately I'm like a cereal for dinner

kind of girl,

especially when, like I have a busier schedule

or like Postmates.

First date.

No, maybe when I was like, like little, you know

you'd hang out with a boy.

And then people were like, oh, you went on a date.

And I was like, no, no.

First famous person that followed me.

I mean, I guess it'd be one of my castmates

I guess when I joined the show, technically.

I honestly didn't feel like really intimidated

going into like a cast that already knew each other.

I think the only intimidating part was like

joining a show that had such an enormous fandom.

That was something that I was not used to in any way.

And just to kind of be like thrown into that was like a lot.

I was at like a speech and debate practice or something

and my mom called me in a panic

and she was like I need to pick you up.

And I'm like, Well, mom, I'm practicing my routine.

And she's like, No, I gotta pick you up.

So then like she came, she picked me up,

she drove me home and she was driving really fast.

And then I think I knew something was up.

And then I got a phone call and it was Matt and Ross.

And they were like, All right, you got it.

I was like, okay, cool.

And then I think I had like a month

before I had to go to Atlanta

and it was hard 'cause like I just started freshman year

and I was really liking being in school.

But then of course when Stranger Things came along

I was like, oh no, no, no, this.

We're gonna do this.

The first time I watched myself on screen

it was my first TV job ever.

And I made like a little guest appearance

on a TV show called The Americans

which is a really good show.

Do I look like a little girl?

Thank you.

I was like, oh, I don't like watching myself

because you know, when you're on a stage,

it's like, you go, you do whatever

and then you don't have to see it

or think about it ever again until the next performance.

But like seeing your work back,

that was the first time I like kind of

like watching myself act

and it took some getting used to for sure.

The first piece of advice I remember getting as an actress,

it was like the second show that I did.

One of the associate directors was like, you know

go be a kid, experience what it's like to be in school,

in high school.

Like I'd been out of school since the fourth grade.

I'd been homeschooled.

And so I took that advice

and I'm really like glad that I did

'cause I made friends and got to experience high school.

My first friend on set, I knew Caleb and Gaten before

because they were on Broadway at the same time.

First person I met besides those two, that was Finn.

Even when he was like what, 13, 14.

He was like the coolest kid ever.

First time I got on a skateboard was for Max.

Probably I was like 14-years-old.

It was hard.

I had to like work at it for three, four months

or something like that.

The goal was to just make it

look like I was comfortable with the board.

Yeah, it was like three hours every day for a long time.

I have a few skateboards that I've just like collected.

And then sometimes if I'm bored

I'll go like skate around the block.

Like if I'm at my parents' house or something.

But not often.

My first red carpet event was I think season two

of Stranger Things.

God, no one teaches you what to do on those things.

They kind of just throw you in blind.

And I'm like not a natural in any way.

I was just kind of like, okay,

I guess I'm just gonna look at what everyone else is doing

and try and emulate that.

They said my name.

And I remember that was really weird for me

'cause the show hadn't even come out yet

but they still knew my name.

[photographers yelling]

It's just so overwhelming.

But you get used to it for sure.

The first thing you should do when you visit Texas,

go get yourself like a half gallon of Blue Bell ice cream.

You won't regret it.

Mint chocolate chip was always my favorite.

But that's, I know a lot of people think it

that shouldn't be an ice cream flavor,

but that was my personal favorite.

My first big purchase was a car that I got myself

for my 18th birthday.

It was a Tesla.

It was exciting.

It was new.

It was like, I had it for myself

and I was like I did it!

and it was electric and I loved it.

And then I sold that car because I didn't use the car.

The first thing I did after getting cast as Max.

I told my brother Mitchell and he cried.

It was very sweet.

I'm one of five kids.

But my brother Mitchell

was my musical theater partner in crime.

I think the first time I cried on command.

It's interesting because when I was little

crying on camera was all about producing tears

and you were just like, oh I gotta get a tear down

or something like that.

And then, as you get older

there was like a shift where it's like

you kind of start to just like, feel it more.

And like you're actually emotional when you're doing it.

I like hate hearing myself even say this,

it sounds so actory and I hate it.

But like, yeah, you like go to a dark room

and you listen to music or something.

Get into your character's mindset,

whatever like serves you in that moment.

The first time I met Dacre who plays Billy,

my stepbrother on the show,

we didn't have a chemistry read or anything.

So I think I met him at the opening cast welcome dinner.

We didn't get to practice anything.

Like our first scene that we filmed together

was I think in episode four.

Hey!

This is serious shit, okay.

I'm older than you.

And something you learn

is that there's certain type of people in this world

that you stay away from.

Dacre's such a nice person and in between takes

he's just, you know, ever so lovely and charming

and hilarious.

But then we'd get into it.

I was like, oh wow.

It was a lot more intense than I thought it was gonna be.

He's a really talented actor.

And like taught me a lot just like watching him,

just throw himself in there.

First time I got turned down for a role I really wanted.

Oh man, I auditioned for Matilda,

which my brother ended up being in.

I am not a dancer.

I can't do that.

But I auditioned and,

needless to say, did not get a call back.

That was it.

The first time I got recognized,

I was skating at a skate park.

Some girl had walked up to me and she was like Mad Max!

And that was the first time.

And I was like, oh my God.

And then it started happening a lot more

as more people were watching the season and everything.

First time I felt like a real adult

probably when I started living on my own

and like going to set on my own,

Before you turn 18,

you have to have a parent or guardian with you on set.

And then I turned 18 over the pandemic

and my mom was like, All right, fly away, be free.

First piece of advice I'd give aspiring actors,

go big, make choices, throw it all out there.

You kind of get like a little stiff

and you just do things the way you think

they want it to be done.

And that can work sometimes, but like

don't be afraid to mix up a bit

and put yourself out there.

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