Posted on Thursday, November 9, 2017 by RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com on his AJC Radio & TV Talk blog
Of the local Atlanta actors in modest roles on "Stranger Things 2," Priah Ferguson probably made the biggest impression as Lucas' bratty younger sister.
The 11-year-old actress brought sass and attitude to her limited role, annoying her older brother Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin) to no end. She played with his toys without asking. She mocked Lucas' friend Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo) when he was seeking to find Lucas, totally oblivious to the madness going on in Hawkins. When she became aware Lucas had a potential girlfriend in Max, she mercilessly teased him about it.
Her character Erica is around 9 years old, Priah said in an interview this week. She said she could pass for that age given that she's not very tall. "My parents," she explained, "are short." But given she is older than she looks, adults will often note how mature she is.
Priah, who taped her audition at Catapult Acting Studios, has a younger sister and no older siblings so she said she enjoyed having one, even fictionally. "I've never played a role like that. It was super fun being that annoying to him. She's comic relief."
She has some other appearances on her resume, including PBS's "Mercy Street," Lifetime's "Daytime Divas" and FX's "Atlanta." That latter show is a bit too adult for her. She viewed her scene and that was it.
"Stranger Things," though, was okay for her to view in full. "It was funny," she said. "It was scary. especially when Dustin's pet Demogorgon ate his cat. Oh my god, Dustin is super funny!"
Although most of her scenes were just with McLaughlin, she did get to meet David Harbour (Chief Hopper) and Millie Bobby Brown (Eleven). Brown "gave me a hug. I didn't time to speak. I was star struck. I was mind blown!"
Priah, whose parents are both in creative fields, was clearly ready with the question about her plans in the future because it sounded like something an actor years older might say: "I would like to write, direct," she said. "Work on my craft! I'd love to be in a Marvel movie. I love dramas, scifi. I'm all about that. I also like dry comedy."
