Millie soared to fame at the age of 12 (Picture: FilmMagic)

Stranger Things actor Matthew Modine said he went to great lengths to protect Millie Bobby Brown from being ‘destroyed’ by fame.

The British actress won the part of Eleven in the smash hit Netflix sci-fi drama, which also stars Winona Ryder, at the tender age of 12, swiftly becoming a household name.

Matthew, meanwhile, was a veteran performer, having been in films such as Full Metal Jacket, when he joined the series set in the 80s, playing the role of Dr Martin Brenner.

The Dark Knight Rises actor joins Jonathan Ross on his talk show on Saturday night, alongside Craig David, Katherine Ryan, Oti Mabuse, Josh Jones and indie darlings Wet Leg, where he discusses Millie’s ascent to the big time.

Asked about working with Millie, when she was at such a young age and new to the industry, the 63-year-old responds: ‘[I was] wanting to be protective of her. How the business changed, when you saw me in Birdy to today… if a movie was successful in 20 or 30 countries around the world, that would be an enormous success.

‘Netflix is in over 190 territories around the world. So what Millie was subject to was global. What she was exposed to – and what all the children on this show were exposed to – was a kind of fame and popularity and notoriety that ever existed in the entertainment industry.’

He continued: ‘Over the course of my career, [there have been] young actors and actresses whose lives were destroyed by that kind of fame and money and everything. It can be very destructive and disorienting.

Matthew opened up to Jonathan Ross (Picture: Shutterstock)

‘I just wanted to do everything I could to make sure she was safe and she understood that a career is a rollercoaster, that there’s ups and downs to it.’ 

As well as starring in Stranger Things, Millie has gone on to feature in films such as the Sherlock Holmes spin-off Enola Holmes and Godzilla: King of Monsters.

Millie made her name as Eleven in Stranger Things (Picture: Netflix)

She had also previously raised a few eyebrows by claiming that the earth was flat in a TikTok video when she was 14 years old.

However, the starlet has now revised her opinion, saying that she no longer buys into the conspiracy in a lie detector test with Vanity Fair.

Matthew is a veteran actor (Picture: Getty Images)

Elsewhere, the star recently expressed her interest in playing pop icon Britney Spears in a biopic about her life.

In a recent interview with Drew Barrymore, the young actress was asked if there was anything on her ‘bucket list’ as a filmmaker.

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‘I want to play a real person. I think for me, Britney,’ she said.

The Jonathan Ross Show airs tonight at 10.10pm on ITV and ITVHub.

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