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Meet ‘Stranger Things’ Season 3’s Newest Star Maya Hawke, Who Plays Robin on the Show
Whether or not you’ve binge-watched season 3 of Stranger Things by now, you may have noticed the Netflix series’ latest newcomer/breakout star Maya Hawke and her awesome acting skills. The 21-year-old plays a high school student/ice cream shop employee named Robin on the show, and her performance has blown many away.
Season 3 takes place during the summer of 1985 — a year and a half after season two left off. School’s out and the gang are all up to different activities, some of which include summer jobs, which is where viewers meet Robin.
Robin works at Scoops Ahoy at Starcourt Mall with Steve Harrington, portrayed by Joe Keery. Initially, the two don’t get along, but that changes as the season progresses. Robin is witty, sarcastic and somewhat nerdy, which is the perfect opposite to Steve. They eventually form an unlikely friendship.
As for the actress, you may be wondering why Maya looks so familiar and you may have gone crazy trying to figure out where you’ve seen her before Stranger Things. She made her acting debut in 2017 with BBC’s Little Women, however, she’s an exact resemblance of both her famous parents, so if you didn’t catch her on the British miniseries, you probably know her as Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke’s daughter. The former couple were married from 1998 to 2005 and had Maya two months after tying the knot.
Though acting seems to run in her blood, she wasn’t always interested in it. “I resisted it a little bit, because it was the family business, until I realized that it made me the most happy and that it was what I was the best at,” she told WWD in June.
However, during her junior year of high school, she knew. “I was like, ‘I don’t know, do I want to get an English degree, what do I want to do?’ I was simultaneously doing a play at my school, and it was the only thing I liked doing. I didn’t like studying for my SAT, didn’t like writing essays, but I felt so alive and capable in the theater at my school,” she added. “And how do you say no to that?”
You can catch Maya on the big screen next in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood starring alongside Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie. The comedy-drama film hits theaters on July 26 — we can’t wait!
