‘Stranger Things’ Actor Listened to ‘A Lot’ of Metal to Get Into Character
In the newest season of Stranger Things actor Joe Quinn plays Eddie Munson, the leader of the Hellfire Club at Hawkins High. In the series, Munson rocks an '80s heavy metal perm and denim metal jacket with a Dio back patch and a W.A.S.P. pin, so he most definitely looks the part as the show takes place in 1986.
Eddie Munson is a rebellious metalhead who has failed to graduate more than once and he leads the Dungeon & Dragons club at the high school. Munson is also the guitarist of the band Corroded Coffin in Stranger Things and he invites another character to come to one of his band's shows.
To get into character the actor says in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, "I listened to a lot of heavy metal. That was my...God, it's impossible to not sound pretentious when you say it, but, yeah, that was my way in."
Quinn has played guitar since he was 7-years-old and thanks to School of Rock he owns a Gibson SG. "I wouldn't consider myself a brilliant guitarist, but I can play it," he explains. "That was very lucky because those scripts came out, I think, at some point in the pandemic. I did start practicing pretty furiously."
The actor says that his hair really helps to establish his character. The barnet wig (which took two weeks to find) "serves the character really well," he states. "It's very useful as an actor to put something on and instantly feel like you're looking at a different person."
Quinn has also appeared in Game of Thrones, Catherine the Great and the movie Overlord. Munson serves as one of the main characters in Stranger Things Season 4 Volume 1. But don't worry, no spoiler here. However we do expect to see a lot more of him in the second half of the season. Stranger Things Season 4 Volume 2 is expected to come out on July 1.