- [Josh] Congratulations on the new movie, 'Godzilla vs. Kong,'
but almost as importantly, congratulations
on getting your driver's license.
These are two momentous events in one's life.
- Yeah. Very much, very much.
- Was that a big deal for you, to get the license?
Was that something that, like, was on the calendar?
Like, as soon as I'm able, I'm getting this.
- Setting personal goals for myself is definitely
one of my priorities.
I said I want to graduate high school a year early
and I definitely want to get my driver's license
as soon as possible.
For me, those are two of my biggest things.
I'm still working on the first one
but the second one is done and dusted.
- Do you listen to "Drivers License" while driving?
Is it a meta moment of listening to
the song while you drive?
- What an amazing breakup song, by the way.
- [Josh] 'Godzilla vs Kong.'
This is your second go-around
in the monster universe.
I mean, it's kind of annoying that you have
two megastars refusing to do publicity.
It's all on your shoulders, Millie.
- It's all on my shoulders.
And that's why I need a massage, you know,
because I'm carrying the weight
of these two monsters, literally.
- I would expect you never get used to this kind of
scale of filmmaking, but you know sort of the tricks
of the trade by now. What was the biggest difference on
this go-around versus the last one?
- Well, I'm older and, you know, the first time around
we filmed in Atlanta, Georgia, and the second time around
we filmed two months in Hawaii, three months in Australia.
So, it was huge, you know. A big move for me and my family,
you know, just to, kind of, uproot and go to Hawaii.
And then you go to Australia and you might think,
"Oh, you lucky girl. You're in Hawaii and Australia,"
but actually it's quite difficult.
The time difference. You feel very isolated, you know.
You can't talk to anyone.
And also, I found myself working every day.
So, you don't really, you're not really
enjoying Hawaii like you really want to enjoy Hawaii.
- Right.
- But I wish I could, but I'm definitely going to go back so
I can be able to actually enjoy it and embrace the culture.
- When you signed up for the last 'Godzilla' film,
I assume this was sketched out a bit. You knew
sort of the arc, generally speaking?
Or did they tell you nothing and just say, "Hopefully,
"we're going to be able to shoot this next one in a year"?
Like, how much do you know going in?
- I think I knew that I was going to be in the second one.
I knew that.
I didn't know when.
I mean, that's always kind of -
I don't even know when I'm doing 'Stranger Things,'
like, seasons likewise. Like, they'll let you know
maybe a few months before.
- Right.
- Like, these big dates.
So, that is always up in the air.
And for this film, I found out that we were doing Australia,
like, a few months before.
Like, that was very much news to my ears.
But I didn't know, like, the script or the arc of
the character very much, like, when signing onto it.
- Does it feel like -
I mean, it's in the title.
We have to make the choice going in.
Does it say something about one's personality
where they side?
Like, if you're a Godzilla head or a Kong person.
What does that say about the human being?
- If you're someone that, that is very much
an emotional person that, you know, likes to communicate
and stuff like that, then probably go with Kong.
- Right.
- If you're someone that's like, "Fight, fight, fight,
fight," go with Zilla.
So it's like, I go with Zilla because I'm like -
we're talking about a fight here, you know?
- Yeah.
- But I would choose Kong if I wanted a shoulder to cry on.
- Does Zilla remind you at all of David Harbour?
They're both loud.
They're both tall.
They're both strong-willed.
- Yes, but I'm not afraid of either of them, you know.
[Laughs]
- You got to stand up to them, show them who's boss. Yeah.
- They know who's boss.
[Laughs]
We set that a long time ago.
[Laughs]
- So, let's weigh in on some of the other big pop culture
match-ups. If you had to pick, Marvel versus DC,
who do you side with?
- Well, I haven't watched a Marvel film ever
and I've never watched a DC film.
- Whoa.
Yeah. News. I know.
- What's going on?
Is it just not your bag?
It's not your thing or?
- It's, it's not, but I'm open to it, you know?
It's not like I'm, I just, I've just never been like,
undefined
- Right.
- But like, I'm more into, like, 'The Notebook.'
- Yeah. No, I hear ya.
- You know, let's put on some romance films.
I'm not, I'm not crazy on that because I think I'm in it.
That's why. I think I am, like, you know,
I'm doing that stuff already.
I want to see stuff that's real.
- So speaking of romance, OK.
This is a provocative one, 'Bridgerton' [versus]
'Mandalorian'?
I think I can guess.
- Yes, 'Bridgerton.'
[Laughs]
I mean, the music and the costumes are amazing.
- 'Harry Potter' [versus] 'Jurassic Park'?
- 'Jurassic Park.'
- Interesting.
- I've never watched 'Harry Potter.'
- Millie, you need a break
because you need to catch up, because -
- I know, I know, I know. I have so many friends that
just look at me and are like, "How?"
I'm like, "I don't know."
- What about 'The Office' versus 'Friends'?
- 'Friends.' I've never watched 'The Office.'
I've watched every episode of the 'Friends,'
of the friend, of 'Friends.'
[Laughs]
Am I OK?
- Was that in the last year or had you,
were you already into the 'Friends?'
- No. I, like, grew up, like, eating dinner and watching 'Friends.'
Like you know, like, in 'Matilda' when
they eat dinner in front of the TV.
- Mhm.
- That was me and my family with 'Friends.'
- Have you met said cast members? Would that blow your mind
to mingle with the Jennifer Anistons of the world?
- I've met Jennifer Aniston, who is amazing.
I met her at an after-party once and she was so sweet, so kind.
We had a conversation.
I just, like, kind of like, stared in her eyes
and was like, "Hi."
[Laughs]
undefined
- They're reuniting soon, so maybe
you can moderate or something. You can do -
- If I met Ross,
- Yeah.
- I would scream, "Pivot!"
[Laughs]
- I like how you leaned in,
you're like, "This is the important thing."
- I just wanted to let you know that.
- "This is between us, if I meet him."
- "Don't tell anyone."
[Laughs]
- So, speaking of people you admire.
I'm curious because, you know, I feel like every time
I'm catching you in these last few years, these are pivotal,
kind of transitional points in your career.
- Right.
- Obviously, 'Stranger Things' establishes you
on this ginormous scale.
Did you look at, like, when you signed on for 'Godzilla'
and you got 'Enola Holmes' going, did you look at other
people like Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Kristen Stewart,
people associated with big franchises as models for, like,
How I can not be identified with one thing
as much as I love it?
- Right. Yeah.
I mean, listen, I used to get nervous.
Like, I'm doing 'Stranger Things'
and I'm doing it for such a long time.
I wanted to do stuff that, I mean,
I haven't not done a franchise yet.
I've never just played a character and then that's it.
Like we don't revisit her again. So -
- Which is unusual, it's usually the reverse.
- It is usually the reverse.
- It's usually the people looking for their franchise.
- Right.
- You've got, like, three going.
- I know, I know.
[Laughs]
- So, does that feel like a weight?
Like, you're like, "It'd be nice to just kind of like do
a character for three or four months and then, you know."
- Right. I mean, listen, I signed up for a few more things,
which is exciting, because I know
that they will just be a one-time thing.
- Yeah.
- So, I'm ready for that.
But I enjoy doing franchises
because I like doing a character, having a year off,
revisiting the character. You know, I like that.
That's fun for me and I think that it shows growth
within the character and then you can make
the character even better than the last time.
- What about your attitude in terms of, like,
when you got cast as Eleven?
I think you auditioned maybe when you
were about 11.
- 10.
- 10. OK. So, you're 17 now.
That's a much different time in someone's life.
- Yeah.
- Are there kinds of things in characters that you're,
kind of like, feel like, "I've done that."
Like, "I'm ready to, kind of, transition from,
"like, girl to young woman to young adult and -"
- Right. Yeah.
You know what I found is kind of interesting
is, like, I am a young girl and you know,
I'm only 17 but at the end of the day,
I'm learning to be a woman.
I'm learning to be a young woman.
And so, being a young girl, people watch you grow up, right?
And they almost become invested in your growth
and your journey, but they aren't ready to accept
the fact that you're growing up, right?
- Right.
- So, I wear a crop top and people are like, "She's 10."
I'm like, "No, I mean, I am 17.
That's a thing that girls do."
Or like, I wear high heels or I wear, you know,
an outfit to an award show and they're like, "She looks 50."
No, it's because you've watched me since I was 10, you know.
- Right.
- That's why you think that.
And so, I think that's what I found has been
quite difficult in the transitioning period.
It's like, they're not accepting it and
I've completely accepted it.
You know, I'm, I'm ready.
- You're like, "I'm good."
- I'm like, "It's been a while, let me wear a high heel."
You know?
I'm not going to be playing those young girls anymore.
And it's like, kind of like, I have 50 million people
like my parents and they're like, "No."
My parents are like, "Yay! Thank God. You're 17."
[Laughs]
Like, "Put on a pair of high heels, let's go," you know.
- You're right and I'm sure it will be a shock to the system
when you start to do even more kind of adult roles.
It's inevitable the kind of stuff
that you would want to do.
You want to reflect your own experiences.
- Right.
- You don't want to live in the past.
- No.
- Yeah.
- I don't want anything to hold me back,
which I think is the most important thing.
- Right.
- I want to evolve.
And I don't want this industry to hold me back from evolving
and telling stories that I feel like have
to go with my age, you know.
- The fame part is intimidating for anybody,
any human being on the planet -
- Right.
- Let alone, someone that's gone through
these pivotal years for you.
These are the years where you're supposed to
be able to, like, screw up in private
and not have to worry about doing it in front of everybody.
Have you found there have been, kind of,
coping mechanisms you've learned along the way
of, like, how you can kind of preserve your sanity
and preserve your privacy to a degree
that will not drive you insane,
that will help you?
- Unfortunately, when I was younger,
I was much more carefree and didn't really even think
about the fame side of anything.
- Right.
- I was very much, kind of, enjoying it.
- You were enjoying it, you were a kid.
- Yeah.
- I mean -
- Right, and I'm just like, "Whoa, fancy dresses,
like, that sounds fun," you know.
- Yeah.
- Whereas now, I'm,
as much as I'm very grateful for it,
I've struggled with anxiety for a while.
I've definitely struggled with the fame aspect more nowadays,
just because, like you said,
you want to screw up but there's no screwing up.
You can't really put on a mask, you know,
because people do see right through it.
And so, I've done things in the past where I post videos
of me upset because it's like, this is who I am
and I'm not going to hide it from you
because I am a normal girl.
And I'm figuring everything out myself.
So for me, that's kind of my journey, I've struggled with
anxiety and I'm learning to cope with it.
I meditate.
I journal a lot.
I take a lot of time for myself and when I come home
from work, I allot, like, an hour to do something of mine
that I really want to do.
Like, I paint my wall and I decorate my walls.
And like, it's kind of a strange thing, but I love,
I love doing anything therapeutic like that.
I love spending time with my family
but I think doing, alotting time for yourself is what
I've learned is the most important
because you'll find yourself within those moments.
- Was that part of the reason that you recently -
I believe you left TikToK recently, right?
- Right.
- Was that all connected?
- I really focus on positive environments.
- Yeah.
- And I think that you are a product of your environment.
So, when you're surrounding yourself with good people,
you are going to be a good person.
You learn from people. You learn from wise people.
I've been lucky enough to share moments with people
that are very amazing, like my parents
and also people in this industry.
And when I was on a social media platform that was
generating a lot of hate and shade,
- Yeah.
- I just felt like I didn't want to be part of something
that was enjoying that and kind of embracing that.
So, I had to leave because I felt like
it wasn't right of me to advocate for cyberbullying
and then be part of something
- I hear you.
- that enjoys that.
We were glad to see that you at least popped up in
Noah's TikToK recently. So, the love is still strong.
- Well, I mean, listen, I love the dances,
but I just I don't like the app itself.
[Laughs]
- It's the best of all possible worlds.
- So, Noah came over. He had a COVID test, came over,
and was like, "Let me, like, let's do a TikTok."
So, I was like, "OK, we're going to do it together."
And so, it was really nice to be able to, to do that.
And I, I know that a lot of everybody,
everyone was excited to see me back,
but I'm not, I'm not back from my account.
- OK.
- But I will definitely be peering through.
- What's the pop culture bond at this point
with Noah, having known him a few years?
Like, what do you guys bond over now
versus when you first met?
What are the conversations about?
- When we first met, you know, we were very much young
and we were so into, like, sleepovers and scary movies
and, like, making movies on our iPads.
Like, that was what we were doing.
And now it's more like, "Hey," you know, cool, you know.
We're like cool kids now.
But he's so amazing.
I love talking to him and catching up and it's so funny,
he came over to my house and the first thing we did was
I said, "Let me show you my car." And we got outside.
We sit in my car for, like, an hour
and we just catch up and we're in the pitch black.
I mean, the car was pitch black and we were sitting in that.
I had my flashlight on
and we just talked about everything and caught up.
And it was so nice to be able to talk to someone that
knows my position because they're in the same.
- Yeah. You've gone through this journey with this cast.
I mean, is the environment on set different now in Season 4?
Obviously you guys, again,
you're at different places in your lives.
Maybe the finish line starts to get in sight.
Like, you know, this is a finite thing.
So, do you start to get a little bit kind of like, "Oh
we have to enjoy this.
"Like, this might just be another year
undefined
- Right. Yeah. I mean, listen 'Stranger Things' is -
I get emotional even talking about the end because
the end to me, I don't want to think about it.
You know, this is like my home.
It's like, when I go and do a movie, it's like, "All right.
Like, I'm going to go home to 'Stranger Things.'
This is where I belong."
And so, being on set recently, it's been like, since,
since I was, like, in Season 1.
It's kind of, like, the same people
and the same vibe, you know.
Listen, it's very different.
We have much more of a free range to do what we like.
- They trust you more and you're older.
- They trust us and, yeah.
And it's like, it's more of a success.
And we have more weight on our shoulders.
But I will say, like, I love the show and
I love going to set and, and having my character grow more.
It's very much the same as Season 1.
- What is the last piece of TV or film
that you really obsessed over?
- Last night I watched a very good film
called 'Closer' with Natalie Portman.
- Yeah.
- I've never watched that.
My mom was like, "You should watch that."
And I watched it and the red hair,
I'm, like, ready to do it.
- Yeah. She's pretty good.
She's not bad, that one.
- She's not bad, that one.
She's not like my all-time inspiration.
Not at all.
[Laughs]
- Is she really? Is that the one you put on the pedestal?
- Yes. For sure. Yeah.
- What was the first role?
You haven't seen 'Star Wars,' so I know it wasn't that.
If she finds out about this,
she might not want this friendship.
- No, I met her once and almost, like, welled up.
She goes, "I heard people think that we look alike
and I'm just so lucky."
And I was like, "You're -"
[Laughs]
Let me just sit here
quietly for the rest of the interview.
I was like, "You're lucky?"
I was like, "Nat,
'cause I feel like I can call you that now."
- "Nat, let me introduce you to Zilla, Zilla, Nat."
- "Nat."
[Laughs]
- I was like, "Nat, you're stunning
and I will never be half as good as you. Ever."
So that's it.
And so, and then I started singing "Brown Eyed Girl" to her.
[Laughs]
- As one does.
So, you mentioned before, you know, 'Enola Holmes,'
which I assume, hopefully you want to return to
that character, I mean, are plans afoot?
- I would love to.
Yeah. I mean, I would love to.
I'm begging for it to happen.
- And you've got like a bunch of things,
like, in the hopper as a producer.
You're potentially, I think,
going to be directed by the Russo Brothers.
Like, that's kind of ginormous.
Is there, I mean, I'm sure you're passionate
about all of these potential future projects
but is there one that you're, like, really psyched
to get going on, to get your feet on set?
- Yes, absolutely.
I have one specific project that I'm just, I'm crazy over.
I'm, like, continuing to read the treatment
and the scripts for it because of how excited I am.
I've been wanting to do this role for a few years and so -
- What is it? What is it?
What? You can't just tee it up like that.
- I know, I know, I know. But I've been wanting to do
this role for a few years and so now it's finally come
to fruition and I'm very, very excited to be able to film it.
- Can you say just, aspect-wise, of like,
what's exciting about it without revealing what it is?
- What's exciting about it is
that it's a period piece in a foreign country.
- OK.
That's part of the joy too.
You talking about Australia, you're,
you're checking off all these boxes.
You're traveling. Well, hopefully -
- "Well, mate, I'm actually playing a safari."
undefined
I'm like, "Here's a lizard."
I'm going to be Robert Irwin's wife.
I play his wife
- Oh, there's the exclusive. - in the new film.
- I was not expecting that.
- Watch that be the headline.
Honestly, after all I've said,
that's going to be - "Robert Irwin's Wife."
No, not at all, but I'm saying -
[Laughs]
I'm trying to play with you, nevermind.
- No, we know you have the driver's license now.
So, I know the next part is in a 'Fast and Furious' movie.
That's the no-brainer.
That's why you got the license.
That's exactly why,
That's been my dream.
[Laughs]