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Twelve-year-old Millie Bobby Brown has found fame as Eleven — a girl with telekinetic powers who's at the center of the Netflix summer phenomenon "Stranger Things."
But it wasn't her first series role. And it wasn't her first venture into science fiction.
Brown co-starred in "Intruders," the 2014 BBC America/BBC 2 series about a secret society whose members steal other people's bodies. She played a 9-year-old girl whose body was stolen by an adult male serial killer.
"I do always have a sweet spot for some serious, dark roles," Brown said.
Brown, who's appearing at Salt Lake Comic Con next weekend (see box for details), said she "loved" both roles.
"But I can't imagine myself doing a comedy," she said. "Especially compared to Eleven. But, yeah, it's great doing serious roles."
"But you're also hilarious," interjected Winona Ryder, who stars as Joyce Byers in "Stranger Things."
Hilarious on the set, that is, not on screen. Eleven is tortured, abused and dangerous, but not funny.
Brown and the series' other young stars — Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin and Finn Wolfhard — were chosen from 1,000 young actors "from all over the world" who auditioned, according to writer/director Ross Duffer.
(Brown was born in Spain to British parents and moved with her family to Florida in 2011. They later moved to Los Angeles, where Brown landed her first role — young Alice in the 2013-14 series "Once Upon a Time in Wonderland.")
"There are just so few kids out there who can operate at this level," said Duffer. "You're dealing with … a television schedule, where we can't do 20 takes. So, I mean, really, these guys are just incredible."
Ryder also used the word "incredible" to describe the young actors, along with "special and talented."
"What's really great ... is that they all love doing what they do. They all love acting," she said. "I've worked with kids that maybe didn't and you can feel that. But there was a lot of amazing energy."
In the first episode of "Stranger Things," a young boy, Will (Noah Schnapp), disappears under mysterious circumstances. By the end of the eight-episode Season 1, viewers know what happened to Will — but everything isn't wrapped up with a neat bow.
"We wanted to resolve that main tension of where Will went and what happened to him," said writer/director Matt Duffer (Ross' twin brother). "But then there's a bigger mythology … so there's definitely a lot of dangling threads at the end."
Among the questions Brown is sure to be asked at Salt Lake Comic Con is: What's coming in Season 2 of "Stranger Things"? Not that she'll be able to answer.
The Duffers, who actually do know, weren't giving away any secrets. But they promised that, by the time "Stranger Things" is over, the mysteries will be revealed.
That's assuming there's a second season … or a third or a fourth. Netflix has yet to officially order Season 2, although it's expected to do so.
"So if we can continue it, the idea would be that again — sort of like this season — we're slowly peeling back the mystery," Ross Duffer said, so that by the end, "It feels like a satisfying whole." But, at the same time, it is "otherworldly and weird."
"And then people can have their own theories," Ryder said.
According to Matt Duffer, there are fans who have posted theories online, "and some of them aren't way off."
"And that's fun," he said. "It makes people feel more like participants, and I love that. I love that people are out there, like, debating the meaning of everything."
Twitter: @ScottDPierce —
At Salt Lake Comic Con
Twelve-year-old "Stranger Things" star Millie Bobby Brown will appear at Salt Lake Comic Con on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 1-2. She's scheduled in the Grand Ballroom Friday at 3 p.m. Photo ops ($50) and autographs ($40) also available; info at http://www.saltlakecomiccon.com/portfolio-item/millie-bobby-brown .
Where • Salt Palace Convention Center, 100 S. West Temple, Salt Lake City
Tickets • $20, Thursday, $35, Friday, $45, Saturday (all daily passes $10 more at the door); $5 for children 8 and under; $60-$240 for multipass, gold and VIP packages; discounts available; saltlakecomiccon.com