In more news to make you feel like the world’s biggest underachiever, 14-year-old Stranger Things star Millie Bobby Brown is officially the youngest person ever to make the TIME 100 Most Influential People list.
Her mate (and… pretend… adopted dad???) Aaron Paul wrote the accompanying piece about MBB, describing her as “a wise woman speaking from a cherubic face”, and that their meeting “was like speaking to a future mentor with a perspective and groundedness that I could only have dreamed of at that age. Or at any age, if I’m being honest.”
He continued: “Maybe that’s why she’s such an extraordinary actor. She somehow understands the human experience as if she has lived it for a thousand years.”
Millie, Paul and his wife Lauren have been joking about being a pretend-family for a couple years, after Lauren posted a shot of the three of them with “It’s official #milliebobbypaul #firstfamilyphoto #happyholidayslovethepauls” on Instagram.
Millie shared her own pic of the dinner, calling them her “fake adopted parents”.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BJ2Lyu6jHPi/?taken-by=milliebobby_brown
In the TIME piece today, Paul finished by saying: “I’m proud to know her. To call her a friend. To call her my adopted daughter.”
OH STOP MY HEART.
MBB might be part of the ‘cute Stranger Things kids!!!’ situation, but she’s always been slightly apart from co-stars Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb Lucas, Noah Schnapp and Finn Wolfhard (who, it could be argued, is slightly more deserving of being on this list, having starred in smash-hit It as well as releasing his first album with his band, Calpurnia).
She appears separate to their foursome on red carpets, has covered Interview and Variety, is one of the many famous faces of Calvin Klein, officially exists within The Sims universe, and consistently seems to be hanging out with the also famous, from close friend Maddie Ziegler to a headline-making meeting with Drake.
She’s also set to star in the new Godzilla film, alongside Sally Hawkins, Vera Farmiga and O’Shea Jackson Jr.
She hasn’t commented yet on the honour, but here’s what Paul had to say in full about his ‘adopted’ daughter.
The first time I met Millie Bobby Brown was inside an ice cream shop. My wife and I had superfanned her, like most of the public did when they first saw her onscreen in Stranger Things. We asked if she wanted to meet up, and she said yes. We screamed. We picked a little ice cream shop in New York City, and then, suddenly, we were all together.
The moment we started speaking, I realized we were in the wrong setting. I had thought, Oh, she’s 12, let’s get ice cream. No. She may have been 12 in years, but her spirit and mind were timeless. A wise woman was speaking from her cherubic face. It was like speaking to a future mentor with a perspective and groundedness that I could only have dreamed of at that age. Or at any age, if I’m being honest.
Maybe that’s why she’s such an extraordinary actor. She somehow understands the human experience as if she has lived it for a thousand years. I’m proud to know her. To call her a friend. To call her my adopted daughter.
:’)
