‘Stranger Things’ star Jamie Campbell Bower shares his Vecna inspiration playlist
Here's what our cover star spins to get into character as TV's most gruesome villain
Stranger Things star Jamie Campbell Bower has revealed the music he plays to get into character as the terrifying villain Vecna.
Bower appears on the cover of Rolling Stone UK to celebrate the fifth and final season of the Netflix sci-fi smash, for which he also won The Television Award at the Rolling Stone UK Awards 2025 last month.
In a new behind the scenes video from his cover shoot, Bower discussed the “earthy” music he likes to play in order to get into character as the gruesome Vecna.
Specifically, he mentioned metal acts Sunn O))), Chelsea Wolfe and Norma Jean, as well as a pick from Nick Cave’s 1996 album Murder Ballads.
“Norma Jean is the one that I would always use, and ‘Anna’ was a particular song I would always use before I would walk on set,” he told Rolling Stone UK. “Now I’m telling how the sausage is made!
See all his choices as part of the full BTS video below.
In his Rolling Stone UK cover feature, Bower discussed inhabiting Vecna for the show, saying: “When we would start the process, the music would be in a more folk, black metal kind of space, but as time ticked on, the music would become harder and faster. By the time I went on set, it was almost like being in the state of a boxer getting ready to fight.”
Order your copy of the December/January issue of Rolling Stone UK, covered by Jamie Campbell Bower, here.