There aren’t many stars bigger than Millie Bobby Brown right now. The British actress gained recognition for playing Eleven in the Netflix science fiction series Stranger Things and has been at the top of her game ever since. Thanks to her great work, she has been nominated for an Emmy twice and for a Screen Actors’ Guild Award four times. Brown’s status as a Hollywood A-lister has also been cemented by her performances in the Enola Holmes and Godzilla franchises.
Even though television lovers mostly know Brown for her work in Stranger Things, she has had roles in a few other TV shows. Some of these gigs were short-lived, preventing her from properly flaunting her acting skills. Others were simply not impressive enough. But no matter the scenario, we are all glad that she finally got to where she deserves to be.
Here’s a ranking of every Millie Bobby Brown TV role where she plays a fictional character.
6
Ruby
‘Grey’s Anatomy’
Considered one of the greatest medical dramas of all time (arguably the best, but ER fans will disagree), Grey’s Anatomy covers the personal and professional lives of the doctors, nurses, and patients at Grey Sloanne Memorial Hospital in Seattle. Millie Bobby Brown stars in the season 11 episode, “I Feel the Earth Move” as Ruby, an 11-year-old girl who calls the hospital when her mother collapses during an earthquake. She is then assisted by two doctors, who guide her through first aid procedures.
Acting Fast
“I Feel the Earth Move” is one of the show’s most heart-wrenching episodes, and Brown does well. The actress shows great emotional range, first panicking as she calls the hospital, then demonstrating great composure as she administers first aid, and later going with her mother to the hospital. However, Brown is only on the screen for a few minutes and never gets an expanded arc. The episode also has numerous other subplots, so this particular one gets buried under the weightier ones.
5
Lizzie
‘Modern Family’
Modern Family focuses on the drama surrounding different families (blended, nuclear, and gay) residing in suburban Los Angeles, who are interrelated through their patriarch. In season 6’s “Closet? You’ll Love It!” two boys step out in the street to hand out flyers promoting business. As they are busy trying to get people’s attention, Lizzie (Millie Bobby Brown) rides by on her bike. The boys try to strike up a conversation with her, hoping to woo her, but she completely ignores them and rides off.
Blink and You’ll Miss It
Brown’s cameo is too brief for it to be impactful. At the time of the episode’s airing, few people would have been keen on her as she hadn’t yet hit it big. Even though the casting announcement for Stranger Things had been made, no one really knew how big the show would become. Many fans only learned about this role after Brown became famous. She has never talked about it either, so it remains unclear how she found herself on the set of one of the most critically acclaimed sitcoms of the 21st century. Hopefully, we’ll see her in another funny show sometime soon.
4
Rachel Barnes
‘NCIS’
One of the longest-running shows on American television, NCIS mostly relies on episodic arcs involving agents from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service investigating criminal cases connected to Navy and Marine Corps personnel. In season 12’s “Parental Guidance Suggested,” they look into the death of a Navy officer’s wife. Rachel (Brown), the woman’s daughter, soon becomes a suspect.
Nothing Is as It Seems
As is the case in Grey’s Anatomy, Brown’s arc in NCIS is limited to a single episode, but the young actress is granted more responsibility. Additionally, her acting skills shine brighter as her character first pretends not to be aware of what killed her mother, only for dark secrets to be revealed later on. Here, Brown proved to the world that she had what it took to portray emotionally layered characters. If she’d been in a drama, she’d probably have gotten an Emmy nod. Unfortunately, procedurals are often ignored during award season.
3
Young Alice
‘Once Upon a Time in Wonderland’
Millie Bobby Brown’s first-ever role came in Once Upon a Time in Wonderland. A spinoff of Once Upon a Time, the show has Alice trying to save her true love, Cyrus, while battling villains like The Red Queen and Jafar. Brown plays a young Alice in the early storylines where the character returns to Victorian England from Wonderland and tries to tell everyone about the magical place, but no one believes her.
Dark Time for Alice
In several interviews, Brown has spoken about how much she loved fantasy while growing up, so this must have been a big deal for her. On the show, her performance bubbles with forthright innocence. Especially heartbreaking are the moments where Alice’s doctors and parents completely dismiss her, labeling her delusional. The character’s woes feel very relatable, as we’ve all been in situations where we weren’t trusted. Overall, the show never ceases to thrill. It has its flaws, but once it gets going (the flashbacks are exhausting), and you get used to its rhythm, Once Upon a Time in Wonderland is consistently beautiful and exciting. Despite some dull moments here and there, it’s surely one of the best big-budget fantasy shows in years.
2
Madison
‘Intruders’
Based on Michael Marshall Smith’s book of the same name, Intruders is about an LAPD detective who investigates his wife’s strange behavior, only to learn about a secret society called Qui Reverti, whose members achieve immortality by transferring their souls into new bodies. Millie Bobby Brown is part of the main cast, playing Madison O’Donnell, a 9-year-old girl from Washington State who becomes possessed by the soul of an assassin named Marcus Fox.
Most Terrifying Child Since Regna MacNeil?
If you’re looking for phenomenal performances from child actors, check no further. Brown’s work is amazing, so viewers find themselves being terrified by Madison but also feeling sorry for her. As reality merges with fantasy, one of the character’s personas seems to meld with the other, making it difficult to tell who is the victim and who’s the aggressor. Regrettably, the show was canceled after only a single season. But as they say, everything happens for a reason. Brown might not have gotten the time to do Stranger Things if she had continued with her work in the supernatural drama.
1
Eleven
‘Stranger Things’
Stranger Things opens in 1980s Hawkins, Indiana, where young Will Byers (Noah Schnapp) has mysteriously disappeared. As his friends search for him, they encounter Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown), a mysterious girl with telekinetic powers who fled from a secret government lab. Curious, they dig deeper only to uncover experiments involving a parallel reality known as the Upside Down. Soon, they are facing off against terrifying creatures, mad scientists, and other nefarious figures.
Stranger Achievements
Millie Bobby Brown is outstanding in Stranger Things, but she doesn’t shine alone. Every cast member is incredible in this tale of youngsters who must navigate a sea of nefarious figures as they try to make sense of their new life. Those who think they can manipulate this crew are always in for a rude awakening. So far, the actors have received 39 awards collectively, an achievement that was unheard of before this magical gem came along. We can expect even more after the fifth and final season.
- Release Date
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2016 – 2025
- Network
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Netflix
- Writers
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Kate Trefry, Jessie Nickson-Lopez, Jessica Mecklenburg, Alison Tatlock