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We tried to get her to spill volume 2 secrets, and, well….

It was the hottest day of the year in New York City, so it’s not surprising that Natalia Dyer spent it lying out on a rooftop, even when scheduled up to her neck in Stranger Things interviews. Natalia can handle a little heat. But her phone is…another story.

As the actor chatted with Cosmopolitan and beautifully verbalized the ways Barb’s death still affects her Stranger Things character, Nancy (you’ll want to read her quotes below, trust us), the line abruptly gave out. The culprit? An overheated phone that needed a breather before diving back into talk of the Upside Down.

It was a fitting interview twist, because the heat is certainly on in Natalia’s hit show. Stranger Things season 4 volume 1 has been out for three weeks, and fans binged it in record time, clamoring for new info about the season’s conclusion and anticipated deaths. (There are two episodes in volume 2, one of which is basically a movie, with a 2.5-hour run time.) But although the final episodes drop tomorrow (July 1), fans are still speculating up a storm, especially since we left Nancy stuck under the eye of Vecna in the Upside Down.

The only thing that would make this conversation a little bit stranger is if Natalia spilled everything about volume 2 and beyond, but even streaming giant Netflix isn’t releasing screeners to critics, showing just how tight-lipped everyone is about the big finish. And with the show’s upcoming fifth and final season on the horizon, there are still plenty more secrets Natalia will have to keep (if Nancy survives season 4, that is).

Cosmopolitan spoke to Natalia on a toasted phone about Nancy’s growth over four seasons, her character’s famous Emerson shirt, Barb’s impact, and her hopes for Nancy’s ending.

It’s amazing! I always credit the Duffer Brothers. They write these characters so well and really care about them while individually taking them through an arc that is surprising but also the logical next step. It is kind of wild to see where she started. Every season, she’s coming into her own a little bit more. She’s getting braver, taking more risks, and listening to her intuition.

I think one of my favorite things about being in this show is getting to play with all the other actors and letting my character play with different characters in different dynamics. We all kind of end up interacting at some point, but this season was a big change for Nancy. She’s usually been with Jonathan (Charlie Heaton), so this was such a different place to explore her within this group of characters.

It’s the ’80s. There’s no FaceTime or cell phones, so communication is a little sparse cross-country. It was lovely to get to work with Joe Keery again because these two characters parted ways a while ago. I think both of them have grown up quite a bit since then; Steve especially has grown up quite a lot. It was really fun to explore what that dynamic looks like now after they’ve been through so much.

Obviously, there’s still some love there between these two people. They care about each other very deeply, and I think that is apparent. But it is complicated. They’re in high school and all of these crazy events keep happening. It’s funny to think about the romance aspect of it, but it is a bit unpredictable. She cares very much about both of these two people, but it’s really hard to say where it’s going.

It’s been a while. We were in very few scenes together in season 3, but they were kind of testing each other out. It was so pleasant to see Robin and Nancy interacting in the scripts. Female friendships are such a nice thing to get to play with in these crazy scenarios. We were able to discover where these two characters unite, because they’re obviously quite different. There is a likeness—they’re both intelligent, strong females—but getting to see where they fill each other in and what they learn from each other was really fun. I’m so happy that people have been responding so well to that because I know that we both really enjoyed working together.

“Every season, she’s coming into her own a little bit more. She’s getting braver, taking more risks, and listening to her intuition.”

Gosh, yeah. I think the adults—David Harbour, Winona Ryder, and Brett Gelman—honestly are people we don’t share scenes with very often but are a pleasure to work with and really fun. I think Murray and his dynamic with Nancy and Jonathan goes way back, so it would be interesting to revisit. I also always pitch and really want Mike (Finn Wolfhard) and Nancy to have a nice little brother-sister thing. I think everything goes so fast, and I’d love to see it happen once.

Every year, the show grows bigger and bigger in scale and action. I didn’t really go into this show being “action-y,” but there’s always a lot more to do. I’ve really come to enjoy kind of pushing the physicality of it.

With the boat scene, we got to do some amazing stuff with the water and those were just incredible days. It’s just fun as an actor to get to explore that side of things, but it’s also the nature of the show. As things sort of build up and get bigger and more serious, you do work up more of a sweat.

It’s tricky because it’s this big season and they’re touching on so many of the emotional parts of these characters. You have to pay attention and know how to navigate that, especially with Barb’s death. It’s terrible, but I do think Nancy has been compartmentalizing everything that’s been going on. Nancy sometimes focuses on what’s in front of her to maybe not deal with her emotions all the time. I do think she has her coping mechanisms.

With the whole Vecna thing, I think she is aware of what’s happening. So there’s this shock and this terror and these feelings, but I think there’s also this ultimate goal of trying to figure out what’s going on. She’s always quite focused. But it’s nice when little cracks of that guilt or those deep-seated emotions come through because I think she is a strong character and sometimes the emotional side doesn’t always get to play in there. There’s an interesting balance.

There are always surprising elements. The new characters are always such an interesting addition. I kept turning pages like, Well, when do we all come together?

We always go into those table readings really not knowing what’s going to happen. We all kind of guess and have our ideas of where maybe it will go, and the Duffers never disappoint. The table reads are our version of getting to see the show with fresh eyes, and you can just feel the energy when something big is read out loud. You just look at each other and you just get this “wow, we’re really gonna do this” energy.

We have such an amazing fan base and people are very enthusiastic to share with us how much they love this show. Kate Bush is incredible, and it’s just an amazing song. You’d think by now, we’d be sick of it, but every time I hear it, I remember how great it is. Just seeing how people are talking about it and how some are even being introduced to it, it’s a very wow moment. We don’t want to take credit, but I do think our show introduced this wonderful music to people. It goes beyond just what you’re doing as an actor, and it’s very humbling to see the impact of that.

Wow, no, I actually did not know that that was going on. That’s incredible. As an actor, you really just want to affect people. You want to do something that makes people think things and feel things. Stranger Things is a show that can be very fun and scary. It’s incredible to see anything you’re a part of have that sort of reach and just inspire people to do things or how it can be woven into people’s everyday lives. To be a cog in the wheel for making people think and feel maybe a little bit differently is the ultimate goal.

Editor’s note: If you’d like to purchase a shirt, you can support the fundraiser here.

It’s incredibly bittersweet. I’ve spent most of my 20s on this show, which has been a pivotal time in my life. We’ve been such a real family. It really is such a gift to be able to return to these characters and to work with people you like.

In some ways, we all care about the story, and all good stories must come to an end. Next season for us is going to be very emotional. I’m sure there will be tears flowing often. There’s a lot of appreciation and I think all of us really love each other, love working together, and just love this show. I hope we were able to send it off in the best way possible.

It’s tough. I could say I hope she has a happy ending. I hope they all make it and they’re not too traumatized after this. It’s hard, but I really do put my trust in the Duffers to just come up with something way better than I ever could even fathom. I hope she keeps following her instincts. I feel like these characters are probably knitted together forever and are bonded over this experience. Wherever they go, they’ll stick together.

It’s been really magical. I’ve been a bit spoiled with the ability to just kind of keep coming back to it. But it’s turned me on a little bit to the more action-y side of things. It’s not something that I probably would have thought about before.

Oh, gosh, I don’t know. I mean, I can tell you there’s quite a lot left, so buckle in. Or take breaks! You’re allowed to use the pause button. I think they split it in a great way as well, and it goes pretty, pretty fast. The trailer does a very good job of giving you some taste of what you can expect.

There are some screenshots out there that are pretty indicative of where it’s going, and I really hope people enjoy it. We had a blast making it. I have very fond memories of making a lot of the stuff from these last two episodes with everybody. So I’m pretty excited to see how it all goes down!

This is such a tough question! It’s like, “What’s your favorite film?” It’s very, very changeable. But I’m a big, big ABBA fan. I think if “Dancing Queen” or “SOS” came on, that might just do it for me!

Stylist: Cassie Anderson. Editor: Alexandra Whittaker. Hair: Gonn Kinoshita at The Wall Group. Makeup: Carolina Dali at The Wall Group. Manicure: Kayo Higuchi at Bryan Bantry.

On Natalia: Yellow feather look: David Koma top. David Webb earrings. Grace Lee ring (left). David Yurman ring (right). Black-and-white look: Alexandre Vauthier Haute Couture dress and belt. Neptune Jewels earrings. David Yurman pinkie ring. David Webb ring. High-kick look: R13 Denim shirt and tie. Jimmy Choo heels. Anna-Karin Karlson earrings. Sidney Garber bracelet. David Yurman pinkie ring. Black-and-red look: Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello jacket dress, heels, earrings, gloves, and bracelets. Wolford tights. Black-and-white leaning look: Charles Jeffrey Loverboy dress. Wolford tights. Giuseppe Zanotti sandals. Couch look: Vintage Joseph jacket. Fogal tights. Manolo Blahnik heels. Lana Jewelry necklace. Ramona Albert bracelets. Kenneth Jay Lane ring. Fringe look: Carolina Herrera dress and pants. Pink bow look: Carolina Herrera jacket. Sidney Garber collar. David Webb earrings and buckle ring. David Yurman pinkie ring. Circle chair look: Casablanca blazer. Paris Texas mules. Jenny Bird earrings. Sidney Garber ring.