Being a child actor has never been easy, but in a world where there’s so much discourse, audiences are looking toward the next generation of stars to lead us into the future. Jack Thorne, writer of Netflix hits like Lord of the Flies, Adolescence, and Enola Holmes, knows this all too well, and he’s been fortunate enough to have a front-row seat to the rise of some of the industry’s brightest young talents.

“We’re in a very chaotic and difficult world right now where there’s a lot of hate flowing everywhere,” Thorne told DECIDER when he stopped by our studio to promote Lord of the Flies. “What these youngsters do in terms of defining our next moves as a world is going to be vital, and there’s a lot of pressure on them. “

Thorne pointed to “technological difficulties” and “environmental pressures” as two components weighing on young actors in this day and age, though praised them all for being “so resilient.”

“They’re all so interested and they’re all so determined,” he continued. “It does give you hope.”

Thorne pointed to Stranger Things actress Millie Bobby Brown, who also played the titular star in two (soon-to-be three) Enola Holmes films, as one of those young starlets who worked through the difficulties of today’s Hollywood industry, specifically online criticism and media scrutiny, and still came out successful.

“Millie is getting older now. Millie is an adult now. Millie has gotten married. She’s a mom. I’ve watched her sort of grow up through this and her strength is remarkable,” Thorne gushed, expressing his desire for other young actors, namely the talented cast of Lord of the Flies—which consists of 36 boys ages five to 12—to find themselves following in a similar trajectory as they grow within the industry.

“I hope for the same for all of them — that they get the opportunities she has to grow and be and do different roles and stretch themselves,” he added.

Photo: Brian Zak / NYP

From the sounds of it, Lord of the Flies star David McKenna—whose performance as Piggy/Nicky in the four-part series earned him a Gotham Award nomination—is well on his way to achieving that same success. McKenna, at only 13 years old, is already gearing up for the release of his first film, Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew, directed by Greta Gerwig and starring Meryl Streep, Daniel Craig, Emma Mackey, and Carey Mulligan.

“It was a brilliant experience, honestly,” McKenna told DECIDER. “I can’t wait to talk about it a lot more whenever that time comes. But it was a brilliant experience and Greta was amazing to work with. She’s just brilliant. I can’t wait for everyone to see it, and I hope they all enjoy it.”

In the meantime, you can watch McKenna in Lord of the Flies, which is currently streaming on Netflix.