Nell Fisher (Holly Wheeler) continued the Stranger Things cast’s late-night takeover with a charming appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon this past Thursday. The visit marked a major milestone for the young actress, who stepped into the role of Holly Wheeler for the final season as the character transitioned from a background player to a core member of the party.
Nell opened the segment by gifting Jimmy a necklace of colorful beads and a custom figurine. The necklace was inspired by the one worn by her character throughout season 5. She dubbed him “Jimmy the Joyful,” a nod on her own in-universe title, “Holly the Heroic.” Jimmy, a self-confessed superfan of the series, seemed genuinely touched.
One thing that is obviously difficult for child actors is balancing a massive production with their education. We learned that Nell is a self-described “massive good-two-shoes,” though she recounted a moment of pure panic when one teacher asked to see her after class, “Oh god, what have I done.” However, it turned out that the teacher actually just wanted to mention that she was a fan of the show!
While filming, the school-aged actors were required to spend at least three hours on schoolwork a day at the on-set “Hawkins High.” Nell joked that her English studies often involved high-stakes games of Bananagrams with co-star Jake Connelly (who plays Derek Turnbow).
Nell also provided some fascinating behind-the-scenes insight on the intense bathtub scene where she and Karen Wheeler (Cara Buono) hide from the Demogorgon. An unexpected problem came up during filming: they kept floating to the top of the tub! To solve this, production first tried tying weights to their legs, but their torsos still floated up. They eventually had to put weights directly into their clothes to keep them submerged. It must have been a bizarre feeling to be weighted down underwater, and Nell noted that they even used a special signal to communicate with the crew when they needed to come out for air.
Their segment finished with Nell teaching Jimmy a dance that Mille Bobbie Brown choreographed while on set to Sabrina Carpenter’s “Please, Please, Please.” Jimmy claims he’s a bad dancer and probably won’t be able to do it, though I think he needs to give himself a bit more credit. Anyways, after one practice run, they nail the dance.
While we didn’t learn any news about any potential upcoming projects, it’s clear that Nell is ready for big things; she appeared both articulate and extremely comfortable in the spotlight.
