Sean Austin made an appearance in Stranger Things season 2 as Bob Newby. While he only lasted for one season, his short role was very impactful and is still remembered by fans.

He played Joyce Byers’s boyfriend in the series. His genuine care for the family, especially Will Byers, and his heroic nature made it all more devastating when he was ripped away by the demodogs.

Recently Sean Austin spoke at the Fan Expo in San Diego hosted by Collider’s Arezou Amin and revealed that the series creators Matt Duffer and Ross Duffer were apparently in tears after writing out the fate of his character. He said,

“The word—if it’s on the page, “And Bob stops running, period.” It’s just an awful sentence to read. You know, the Duffers, I’m like ‘Did it hurt to write it?’ And he’s like ‘I was sobbing, I was sobbing writing it.’ And I’m like, well you could’ve put a comma, “and realizes the dogs are still behind him and so, therefore, he exercises great wisdom and judgment and continues to sneak out of the building, slamming the doors behind him, trapping the dogs forever, takes Joyce’s hand in his.” THANK YOU! I just did that riffing, but that was pretty good.”

The actor also revealed that he auditioned for the role of Murray Bauman in Stranger Things. After the audition, the creators offered him a more prominent role of Bob Newby.

Even though Bob was killed in season 2, the character has made an important appearance in Stranger Things: The First Shadow which is a prequel. It tells the tales of young Joyce, Hopper, Bob and Henry Creel.