Who is Sadie Sink? Inside the career of the ‘Spider-Man: A Brand New Day’ actress

Sadie Sink’s career-defining introduction to audiences came via the acclaimed Netflix series Stranger Things. Despite joining the show in its sophomore season, Sink quickly became a fan favourite as Max Mayfield, the skateboard-loving California transplant who forms close friendships with Eleven, Dustin, Lucas, Mike and Will in the fictional town of Hawkins.

She inhabits the role of Max so fully that she steals every scene she’s in. Her now-iconic fourth-season confrontation with the show’s main villain, Vecna, remains one of Stranger Things’ most memorable moments, showcasing an emotionally raw performance that impressed critics and audiences alike. The scene resonated so deeply that it sent Kate Bush’s decades-old Running Up That Hill back to the top of the charts worldwide.

See more: The end of an era: remembering ‘Stranger Things’ through its most unforgettable scenes

Beyond film and television, Sadie Sink has also built a notable stage career. She recently debuted in London’s West End as Juliet opposite Hamnet’s Noah Jupe in a production of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Robert Icke’s modern-dress adaptation offers a fresh take on the classic tale of love and tragedy, punctuating the familiar narrative with “what if” scenarios.

Sink’s performance has drawn widespread acclaim. Her Juliet is at once giddy and awkward, and bold and self-assured in ways only teenagers can be. The chemistry she shares with Jupe is electric—full of the literal and figurative blush of first love—and anchors their star-crossed romance. In Romeo and Juliet, Sink proves herself as versatile a performer on stage as she is on screen.

While much of the conversation around Darren Aronofsky’s The Whale focused on Brendan Fraser’s Oscar-winning comeback, Sadie Sink delivered a performance just as difficult to look away from. As Ellie, she channels years of resentment into relentless hostility toward her estranged father, who abandoned her as a child to build a new life with another partner.

While reactions to the character were deeply divided—with some viewers dismissing Ellie as needlessly cruel and others seeing her rage as entirely justified—Sink’s commitment to playing the difficult, deeply flawed character demonstrated a level of nuance and depth beyond her years.

In part two of Netflix’s Fear Street trilogy—adapted from the popular RL Stine book series—Sadie Sink stars as Ziggy Berman, a young outcast whose summer in Camp Nightwing quickly descends into chaos after a supernatural curse unleashes a brutal killing spree. Paying homage to the slasher films of the 1970s, Fear Street Part Two: 1978 leans heavily on horror tropes from the era. From the camp setting and costumes to the film’s grainy visual aesthetic and graphic gore, the film is packed with nods to horror classics such as Halloween, Texas Chain Saw Massacre and Friday the 13th.

Although Ziggy is written as more rebellious and defiant than the archetypal “Final Girl” of 1970s slashers, Sink channels the same resilience and resourcefulness that defined Jamie Lee Curtis’ Laurie Strode in Halloween. With this performance, Sink joins Curtis among horror’s ultimate scream queens.

All Too Well: The Short Film, written and directed by Taylor Swift, expands the story behind the singer-songwriter’s beloved ten-minute version of All Too Well. Released alongside Red (Taylor's Version) in November 2021, the film stars Sadie Sink and Dylan O’Brien as a young couple whose whirlwind romance unravels under the weight of an age gap and mounting emotional distance.

Sink plays Her opposite O’Brien’s Him, tracing the relationship’s arc from its heady beginning to its heartbreaking end. Swift has spoken about the deliberate age gap between the two actors, a detail widely believed to mirror the singer’s own rumoured past relationship. Sink’s performance, particularly in the much-talked-about kitchen fight scene, showcases her depth and hints at a maturity well beyond her years.

Kimberly Belflower’s Broadway play turns Arthur Miller’s The Crucible on its head, viewing it through a contemporary feminist lens. Set in a high school in Georgia, a discussion on Miller’s classic work spills over outside the classroom, forcing a group of students to confront questions of gender, power and consent. Sadie Sink plays Shelby Holcomb, a student who returns to school after an unexplained absence only to find herself at the centre of vicious rumours.

Her performance earned her a Tony Award nomination for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play. The play’s critical and commercial success has also led to a forthcoming screen adaptation, with Tina Fey producing and Sink attached as an executive producer. Whether she’ll reprise her role as Shelby Holcomb on screen has yet to be confirmed.

Sadie Sink’s professional acting career began on stage as the spirited orphan Annie in a regional production of the beloved musical in Houston, Texas. The performance paved the way for an audition for the 2012 Broadway revival, where she was initially cast as a standby, covering several of the orphan roles, including Molly, Duffy, Tessie, Kate and July.

In 2013, Sink stepped into the title role, sharing the part of Annie with Taylor Richardson. Although it marked the beginning of her professional career, the production showcased the confidence and stage presence that would later define her work across theatre, film and television.

With Spider-Man: Brand New Day introducing Sadie Sink to an even wider global audience, her career shows no signs of slowing down. From standout performances in Stranger Things, The Whale and Fear Street Part Two: 1978 to standout acclaimed turns on Broadway and the West End, Sink has demonstrated expansive range across every medium. If her career so far is any indication, Brand New Day is only the beginning of an exciting new chapter.

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