From flipping the patriarchal fairytale narrative on its head to redefining 80s nostalgia and playing the ultimate child star superhero – Millie Bobby Brown loves to be her own champion.
Her new movie Damsel follows the story of Elodi, a young girl from a fictional kingdom who is married into a foreign royal family to settle her father’s debts. She seems relatively resigned to this sacrifice if it’s going to help her family and kingdom, but wants desperately to marry for love.
The quest for romance is quickly quashed, however, when her mother-in-law Queen Isabelle (Robin Wright) and new husband Prince Henry (played by Nick Robinson) throw her into a cave after the wedding ceremony, leaving her at the behest of a fire-breathing dragon and with only her own determination and wit to help her survive. Certainly not waiting for her Prince to save her.
Damsel joins a line of fairytale films that are rejecting traditional narratives that disempower so many – we’ve also seen Yara Shahidi become the first Black actor to play Tinkerbell and Halle Bailey play a Little Mermaid that had been predominantly portrayed as white-skinned.
From a London hotel room, wearing some well-loved fluffy pink slippers, Millie talks to GLAMOUR about her hopes for Damsel’s place in fairytale history, as well as how she looks after her own mental health and defending herself against criticism in the heightened world of Hollywood.
Empowerment is at Damsel’s core, without a doubt, and Millie hopes that it makes younger generations in particular feel strong. “I just hope it helps younger audiences channel their inner dragon, to feel empowered to fight for themselves and fight for what they believe in,” she says, adding that carrying so much of the story onscreen herself was challenging.
“I’ve never done anything like that before, so it was quite difficult for me to do it on my own, but it definitely made me become more self reliant.”
The film also highlights the slightly archaic elements of marriage, challenging the assumption that romantic love is essential when it comes to giving your life meaning. It zones in on the importance of your own strength and journey. For Millie, who recently got engaged to fiancé Jake Bongiovi, it's all about finding “a really good balance” between romantic love and focusing on yourself.
“Everyone deserves love, if that's within a friendship, or romantic or, just any kind of connection – that's what humans seek,” she says. “I'm very grateful for the love that I have in my life with my family and my friends, and of course, my fiancé. I really wouldn't be able to do what I do without them and that support, they push me and make me a better person. [I think] I'm able to really balance both quite well.”
She recently revealed that Jake’s marriage proposal was a cinematic moment, mostly due to the fact he proposed while they were scuba diving and the ring ended up falling off her finger. She almost lost it to the depths of the sea, but Jake made a heroic dive and saved it.
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Millie describes the proposal itself to GLAMOUR as “magical” – on top of a multitude of emotions when the ring took its plummet into the sea. “It was such a surreal experience to to have, especially underwater, but I would say my reaction went from shock, and then fear that I had dropped it and then happiness,” she recalls.
When it comes to balancing the loves of her life with her own empowerment, Millie knows what makes her feel strong without hesitation. “Women empower me,” she says instantly. “When I'm around women, I feel empowered and inspired.”
For Damsel, she worked alongside House of Cards star Robin Wright and Black Panther’s Angela Bassett, the latter of which played her stepmother. But the film swaps the “evil stepmother” trope for a humbling message of female solidarity, as Elodi’s stepmother does all that she can to save her from her fate.
“We're not pitting women against each other, which I think is very common in today's day and age,” Millie says. “I think it's important to find camaraderie in women and see that on screen.”
A reminder of the sacrifices that women make for wider society throughout history runs deep through Damsel – and it’s one that Millie wanted to push as a call to arms. “The underbelly of the film is about female empowerment and equality. I will always push that message wherever I can.”
When it comes to taking care of her own body and mind, on and off set, the Stranger Things star has some seriously wholesome prerequisites.
“I just surrounded myself with really good energy, really good food. And I’m always on board with good reality TV,” she says, adding that Love Is Blind is her current show of choice, as is her fiancé Jake’s – “it’s his favourite too!”.
She will play “a damsel that doesn't need to be saved”.
While her time on set and the film’s plot itself both demanded and championed resilience, Millie admits that her own resilience has been tested when it comes to criticism she faces online. “I think social media has a huge effect on on young people,” she says, including herself in that category. “I think I’ve definitely become more resilient to other people's criticisms of me.”
Although she reflects on whether she channelled social media and subsequently other people’s thoughts on her life quicker than she needed to, she concluded that the platform does have its place for her to speak out against these criticisms. "I needed it to defend myself and to protect myself,” she says. Learning about setting boundaries with social media and what she takes from it has been “really important”, she adds.
And when it comes to her biggest strength, transparency is a key trait of Millie's – even if it’s not always seen that way initially: “I’m very honest, I'm very, very transparent, which I think has been [perceived as] you know, a fault of mine, but I do think it's a strength in a lot of ways.”
Considering everything she has achieved in her 20 years, from Stranger Things to her work in animal rescue and as a UNICEF ambassador, Millie Bobby Brown’s honesty and commitment to empowering future generations of young girls matches her heroic persona on and off screen.
When asked what she would tell her younger self as she was entering the entertainment industry, her words were frank and full of gratitude. “Your parents are going to become your best friends, they probably already are,” she says. “You’re going to find an amazing partner that's going to walk alongside you, and you're going to stay true to yourself.”
Millie adds that she’d tell her younger self to stay the course – and above all, to give herself a break.
“Do what you're doing now. You're doing your best, you're gonna make mistakes. Don't be so hard on yourself.”
This interview has been edited for clarity.
Damsel is available to watch on Netflix now.
