Maxine "Max" Mayfield

New in town and prickly about it, Max skateboards through Hawkins with her Walkman on and her guard up, more interested in staying invisible than making friends. She's tough, sharp-tongued, and quietly dealing with a difficult home life, including a cruel older stepbrother she'd rather avoid than confront.

Sink plays Max as someone who's had to armor herself early, so her softening toward the group never feels like a plot requirement—it feels earned. The show lets her be genuinely prickly rather than just spunky, and Sink finds the loneliness underneath the sarcasm without ever begging for sympathy.