‘Enola Holmes’ Star Millie Bobby Brown Talks About Being Bullied, Says Her New Netflix Movie Is About ‘Female Empowerment’

There’s a new detective in the Holmes family. In the new Netflix movie Enola Holmes, Millie Bobby Brown plays the younger sister of the famed sleuth Sherlock Holmes (Henry Cavill). After her suffragette mother (Helena Bonham Carter) vanishes, her daughter sets out to discover what happened, proving she’s just as capable of solving a mystery as her genius brother. It’s a role that Brown found “empowering,” she said in an interview with Glamour UK. 

Millie Bobby Brown talks about ‘Enola Holmes’  

Brown says Enola Holmes has a message of “female empowerment.” But her character is also a young woman in the process of learning what she wants from life.  

“[W]e also show that, hey, it’s OK to be a young girl and really not know what you’re doing or what your purpose is in life,” Brown told the magazine. “But that doesn’t mean that you don’t have one. It means that you just have to find it.”

Brown, who is also a producer on the movie, said she was encouraged to use her voice on set. 

“On Enola Holmes I was given free rein to explore my character and Enola is added to my resume for empowering myself,” the 16-year-old explained. “I do have a lot of faith in myself. As a young person and as a young girl I was very listened to so I’m very lucky that I get to tell my story of that experience.” 

She opened up about her experience with bullying 

In the interview, Brown also opened up about her experience with bullying, both in school and online. She said she was initially hesitant to even say she had been bullied, but since finding success as an actor, she’s felt more comfortable speaking out. 

“I didn’t want to say I was being bullied and in those moments you kind of deny the fact that you are,” she said. “Now when I reflect, I’m like, ‘Oh, I definitely was. That’s not something you say to anyone. That’s not normal.’ I think I found my ability to speak out when I started my job, and I found my platform and what I wanted to talk about. For me, it was cyberbullying because I’ve received a lot of that in my life and it’s horrible.”

At one point, the cyberbullying became such a problem that she quit Twitter. Now, the Stranger Things star says she has a “thicker skin.” 

Millie Bobby Brown has said she gets ‘frustrated’ by ‘inappropriate comments’

This isn’t the first time Brown has spoken out about the damaging effects of bullying. On her 16th birthday in February 2020, she shared a powerful message on her Instagram about how challenging the last few years had been for her and urging people to embrace kindness. 

“Our world needs kindness and support in order for us children to grow and succeed,” she wrote. “The last few years haven’t been easy,” she added.  

“[T]here are moments I get frustrated from the inaccuracy, inappropriate comments, sexualization, and unnecessary insults that ultimately have resulted in pain and insecurity for me. but not ever will I be defeated. I’ll continue doing what I love and spreading the message in order to make change.”

Enola Holmes is streaming on Netflix beginning Sept. 23.