Sadie Sink on Stranger Things, Mental Health, and Being Besties with Taylor Swift

I needed to like take a step back

and really evaluate my relationship with social media

and I think I found a nice balance.

Hi, my name is Sadie Sink and this is my Glamor Unfiltered.

Confidence is something that kind of goes up and down

and sometimes you can feel really confident

and other times you're a little bit more insecure,

but I think definitely playing the role of Max,

who is for the most part a very outspoken

and bold and confident person,

that's like helped me a little on my journey

to become like my most confident self.

But it's always fluctuating,

it's never the same.

Throughout like middle school and high school,

I don't think there was ever a moment

where I wasn't like doubting myself

or like feeling insecure

and just like trying to find myself, I guess.

I'm not sure when it was,

but like I hit a certain point

where maybe I was wearing,

like finally wearing an outfit

that I felt like really comfortable in

or felt like I kind of like

put a pinpoint on my personal style

where I was like, Okay, I think this is who I am.

But definitely you have to like

get past those teenage years.

Growing up in this industry especially,

and I started when I was really young, like 10,

you're around a lot of other actors your age

and I think you kind of always compare yourself to them

or you start doubting your abilities.

That was probably where my biggest insecurities lie

just in terms of like, I don't know,

coming into my own as an actress.

When I am on set,

that's probably when I am the most empowered.

Just kind of doing what I love

and what I've always loved

since, you know I was 6, 7, 8, whatever.

That's probably when I feel the best

and I'm able to just kind of like focus

on the work that I'm doing

and whatever character I'm playing

and that's kind of like my comfort zone.

It was kind of amazing.

Like the bond between all of us was pretty instantaneous.

And I think over time it just gets stronger and stronger.

It's really nice having just a solid support group

that's going through the same thing

that you're going through

and makes just being on set that much more fun.

Like my relationship with each cast member

is so different and so unique and special.

They're all just the best.

I'd say it's really important to trust each other

and be honest with each other.

It's also nice having those people

that you've known like for most of your life.

Like for me, I think my best friend is the world

is like my brother.

Like my brother is my best friend in the world.

You know, we trust each other

and we're open and honest with each other

and he's obviously, I've known him forever

so it's a very special bond.

I mean, she's someone that I've always wanted to work with,

but never thought that I would on anything

cause I never thought like our paths

would cross in any way,

but she's such an incredible human being and so smart,

so grounded,

just everything you'd want her to be.

And just like as a friend, as a director, as a mentor,

like it's really incredible to have her.

And that experience was,

it was really, really special

and yeah, it was kind of a cool opportunity

to step out of like,

I don't know, being like a kid on screen, I guess.

But yeah and of course it's like such an iconic song

and the way she kind of like

brought that to life on screen was really special

so it was like an honor to be a part of it.

I mean, it's kind of wild,

but especially joining the show

when it was already such a success,

so we kind of like had a little glimpse

of what I was getting into.

It definitely wasn't easy at first

cause I was never used to like

some of these events that you'd go to,

or like the photo shoots or like this,

like I never had that.

So getting used to that was kind of, that was a process,

but I'd say like the best thing that works for me

is just spending time with my family

and focusing on like the work part of it.

But having like a good, solid support system

is so important

and just kind of feeling like you're surrounded

by people who have your best interest at heart

and not getting too caught up

or overwhelmed with everything.

I learned pretty early on that like having social media

on my phone wasn't the best thing for me

so I don't really have the app

for like Instagram or Twitter.

I think I have a Twitter.

I'm not sure I think I do,

but like I don't keep it on my phone or anything.

Sometimes I'll have it,

like if I'm feeling like I want it,

but not all the time

just cause I think it's what's best for me.

And especially when the show first came out,

it was like a lot of attention all at once

so it kind of, I don't know, it didn't scare me off,

but I was just like, Whoa! I wasn't expecting it.

So I needed to like take a step back

and really evaluate my relationship with social media

and I think I found a nice balance.

Like if I have a photo that I like,

maybe I'll post it, maybe I won't.

Maybe I'll look at the app every once in a while.

Most likely I won't, but I don't know.

It's, some people love it, some people don't like it,

I'm kind of indifferent.

I think it's important

to like feel everything you're feeling also.

So if like you are feeling hurt by something, it's okay.

Like let yourself feel hurt and ride that out

and just kind of like learn from it, too.

So for me, if I ever see something rude or whatever

if I have like a bad day at work

where I'm thinking about like something I did on set

like, Oh man, I should have said that line differently,

you can sit with it for a little bit,

but then just like go to bed,

wake up the next morning, start fresh.

That's kind of what I do.

When dealing with like body image issues

or just kind of like being a young woman in today's society,

there's a lot of issues that come with that.

But I think it's important

yeah, to like have someone you can talk to about it

if you really need that.

For me,

I focus on like what's real

and like real life and my friends

and the people in my circle

rather than kind of paying attention to everything else

that's going on in the world

in terms of like pictures that other people are posting

or what are they wearing or what should I be wearing?

What makeup should I be wearing?

But it's just kind of important

to focus on what's real for most of the time.

I'd say, I don't know,

I feel most like myself

when I'm just at home doing absolutely nothing.

Like when it's just me,

RuPaul's Drag Race, and that's about it. [laughs]

Yeah, I'd say like being just with my family.

I say that a lot, but it really is the truth.

Like it's just people that know you

and aren't asking anything from you

and you're just able to be fully yourself around

and not worry about, I don't know,

what you're saying or what you look like,

you can just kind of let loose.