Stranger Things star Maya Hawke claims some producers cast actors based on their social media follower counts

Maya Hawke and Joe Keery in Stranger Things

(Image credit: Netflix)

Hollywood is undoubtedly a by-the-numbers business, but now Stranger Things star Maya Hawke has revealed just how much in terms of social media status. During an appearance on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Hawke explained that productions don't merely depend on who can sign on but also on the number of followers they're bringing with them. As a result, it's challenging for Hollywood names to break away from social media due to how crucial a tool it can be for getting something made or simply staying ahead in such a competitive industry.

"It's like, 'I don't care about Instagram; Instagram sucks.' Right, but just so you know, if you have over this many followers, you can get the movie funded. Well, I want to make the movie, so you know, like, it's a really confusing line to walk," confessed Hawke. The star, who is set to return in the final chapter of Netflix's flagship show, currently has 8.9 million followers on Instagram, but it seems that depending on how that number changes, it could affect not only her involvement in a film but also the cast she'll be working with.

It's enough to give anyone anxiety, which is coincidentally exactly who she voiced in Inside Out 2, a film that has become the most successful animated movie ever. By this point, she's certainly worked alongside some impressive creative forces, but even they know the game that needs to be played. " I've talked to so many smart directors," Hawke recalled on the pod. "I'm talking to them about how I'm going to delete my Instagram, and they're like, 'Just so you know, when I'm casting a movie with some producers, they hand me a sheet with the amount of collective followers I have to get of the cast that I cast. So if you delete your Instagram and I lose those followers, understand that these are the kinds of people I need to cast around you.'"

It's unfortunate that it's come to this, but thankfully, Hawke has still managed to work on projects where being in the public eye and in front of the camera isn't factored into the production's to-do list. "I mean, there are these few directors maybe there's 10 of them who have reputations that are vast enough and have shown how well they can work and what they can do that they get given a lot of freedom and a lot of privacy and they don't have to have a thousand like extra BTS guys like taking footage and asking you to like, make a video of you peeling your orange on the side of the set, you know?"

Thankfully, Hawke's next few projects will see her spending time out of our time and away from social media. Besides returning to Hawkins and the Upside Down, she'll star in Stephen Frears' movie Wilder & Me, which follows a young musician working for director Billy Wilder (Christoph Waltz). She'll also appear alongside her father, Ethan Hawke, in Revolver, which follows a Beatles fan determined to get into an Alaskan hotel to meet George Harrison. For now, though, in anticipation of her reuniting with Steve, Eleven, and the rest of the Stranger Things cast, check out our guide to everything we know about the show's final season here.