Sadie Sink offered a more personal look at Jean Grey.
The Stranger Things star made it clear that she never viewed the powerful mutant as simply a villain.
Opening up about the role in an interview with Vanity Fair, she explained why she was drawn to portraying a character whose relationship with her abilities is rooted in pain rather than a desire to cause harm.
“I was excited to not play a villain,” the Spider-Man: Brand New Day actress said, describing Jean as someone who is hurt by having abilities and therefore has learned to use them as a threat or as a way to defend herself.
The comments offer a different perspective on Jean, whose introduction in Spider-Man: Brand New Day initially presents her as a dangerous and mysterious figure.
Sink plays the character as a telepathic mutant whose actions put her at odds with Tom Holland’s Peter Parker.
For Sink, however, the appeal was in exploring what lies underneath Jean’s seemingly threatening behaviour.
“She’s only been hurt by having these abilities,” she explained, emphasizing that Jean is still figuring out what her powers mean and how to live with them.
After years as Max Mayfield on Stranger Things, Sink stepped into one of Marvel’s most recognizable mutant roles, a character previously portrayed by Famke Janssen and Sophie Turner.
2026-08-24 13:51:00
