Cover The ‘Stranger Things’ cast—Sadie Sink, Caleb McLaughlin, Finn Wolfhard, Gaten Matarazzo, Noah Schnapp and Millie Bobby Brown—has evolved from unknown children in 2016 to powerful industry figures by the show’s final season in 2025 (Photo: Steve Granitz/FilmMagic)
The ‘Stranger Things’ cast—Sadie Sink, Caleb McLaughlin, Finn Wolfhard, Gaten Matarazzo, Noah Schnapp and Millie Bobby Brown—has evolved from unknown children in 2016 to powerful industry figures by the show’s final season in 2025 (Photo: Steve Granitz/FilmMagic)
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From breakout child stars to global names, here’s how the ‘Stranger Things’ cast has evolved—and what they’re doing in 2025
When Netflix dropped Stranger Things in July 2016, the cast were unknowns riding bikes through fictional Hawkins. Nearly a decade later, they’ve transformed into producers, directors, parents and fashion icons who’ve built empires far beyond the Upside Down.
As the final season premieres on November 26, 2025, we’re looking back at how these child actors evolved into some of Hollywood’s most powerful players. From Millie Bobby Brown’s motherhood announcement to Finn Wolfhard’s directorial debut, here’s where the Stranger Things cast started—and where they’ve landed.
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Millie Bobby Brown (Eleven)
In 2016, 12-year-old Millie Bobby Brown was a British actress whose family had sacrificed significant financial stability to support her acting dreams in Orlando and Los Angeles. Her largely silent, shaved-head performance as telekinetic Eleven made her the emotional anchor of Stranger Things overnight.
In 2025, Brown, now 21, has become unrecognisable from that child star. She’s a wife, mother and production mogul. Brown and husband Jake Bongiovi announced in August 2025 that they’d adopted a baby girl. Professionally, she starred in the sci-fi epic The Electric State while producing through her company PCMA Productions, proving she’s no longer just an actress. She’s a franchise architect who’s built the Enola Holmes series and launched beauty brand Florence by Mills.
Finn Wolfhard (Mike Wheeler)
At 13, Finn Wolfhard was the de facto leader of the on-screen friend group as Mike Wheeler, with his distinctive angular features and rapid-fire delivery. He was one of the first cast members to book a major role outside the show, landing Richie Tozier in the blockbuster Stephen King adaptation It in 2017. Even then, Wolfhard projected an alternative rock sensibility rather than Disney Channel energy. He formed rock band Calpurnia, which toured successfully, before forming new duo The Aubreys, proving music wasn’t a vanity project but part of his identity.
Fast forward to 2025, and Wolfhard, 22, has stepped behind the camera entirely. His horror-comedy directorial debut, Hell of a Summer, received wide release through Neon in April 2025. The achievement is remarkable: directing the widely distributed feature places him among Hollywood’s youngest auteurs. He also released his debut solo album Happy Birthday in June 2025, cementing his status as a multi-hyphenate creative.
Joe Keery (Steve Harrington)
In 2016, Joe Keery, then 24, was known primarily for Domino’s commercials and playing jerk jock Steve Harrington, who was initially positioned as a one-dimensional antagonist. No one expected the character—or Keery—to become the show’s unlikely heart. As Steve evolved into the beloved babysitter and fan favourite, Keery quietly built a parallel music career that would eventually rival his acting fame.
Now 33, the artist has successfully split his identity in two. His musical alter ego Djo released his third album, The Crux, in April 2025, supported by the Back On You Tour across North America and Europe. Unlike celebrity vanity projects, Keery has built a legitimate fanbase that exists independently of Stranger Things. His viral hit “End of Beginning” gave him a second career entirely separate from Hawkins, proving he’s not just an actor who makes music—he’s a touring artist who happens to act.
Sadie Sink (Max Mayfield)
Sadie Sink joined Stranger Things in season 2 (2017) as skateboarding newcomer Max Mayfield, the tough California transplant who had to prove herself to an already-famous ensemble and already-established on-screen friend group. At 14, she entered with the pressure of filling the new kid role while her castmates were global sensations. She quickly demonstrated her range, particularly in season 4’s emotional “Running Up That Hill” sequence that became a cultural phenomenon.
In 2025, Sink, now 23, has carved out a niche as the cast’s prestige drama specialist. She starred in the post-apocalyptic rock opera O’Dessa, released on Hulu. Critics praised her singing and gender-defying performance, even as the film itself received mixed reviews. The choice reveals Sink’s strategy: select projects requiring high difficulty—singing, stylised acting—rather than safe commercial bets. Reports also confirm she’s set for a West End debut in 2026, following the show’s other theatre veterans.
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Caleb McLaughlin (Lucas Sinclair)
In 2016 Caleb McLaughlin, then 14, was the most technically trained child actor in the ensemble, having starred as Young Simba in The Lion King on Broadway before landing the role of pragmatic Lucas Sinclair. He carried himself with a theatrical discipline that distinguished him from the raw naturalism of his peers, bringing professional stage experience to the scrappy Hawkins crew. His Broadway background meant he arrived with a work ethic and vocal training that would serve him throughout the series.
By 2025, McLaughlin, 24, has evolved into a versatile leading man, bridging animation and drama. He leads the voice cast of Sony Pictures Animation’s Goat, scheduled for February 2026 alongside Stephen Curry and Viola Davis. This follows his role in Lee Daniels’s horror film The Deliverance in 2024. McLaughlin’s also pursuing music, releasing original R&B tracks.
Gaten Matarazzo (Dustin Henderson)
Gaten Matarazzo, who was 13 at the beginning of the first season, won global hearts as the loveable, goofy Dustin Henderson, the comic relief with genuine emotional depth. His openness about living with cleidocranial dysplasia—a condition integrated into his character—made him a powerful advocate for disability representation from day one. He arrived wearing that signature baseball cap and infectious grin, becoming the heart of the show with his earnest charm.
By 2025, Matarazzo, 23, has executed a “reverse-Hollywood” move—while peers chased film franchises, he doubled down on theatre. He completed major Broadway runs in Sweeney Todd (as Tobias Ragg) and Dear Evan Hansen (as Jared Kleinman), with 2025 voice work for Animal Farm. Matarazzo has been candid about anxiety regarding Stranger Things ending, noting the show provided rare job security. His Broadway pivot is strategic, relying on vocal talent to weather screen trends, branding himself as a legitimate stage staple.
Noah Schnapp (Will Byers)
At 11, Noah Schnapp was the youngest and smallest cast member in 2016, playing Will Byers—the boy who spent the majority of season 1 trapped in the terrifying Upside Down or presumed dead. Consequently, he had less screen time and initially less media exposure than Brown or Wolfhard, earning him the nickname “the missing boy”. As the series progressed and Will returned, Schnapp’s off-screen popularity exploded through his mastery of TikTok, making him the Gen Z representative engaging directly with fans in ways his co-stars didn’t.
In 2025, Schnapp, 21, is navigating being a celebrity and a full-time University of Pennsylvania Wharton School student. He’s also channelled his business education into launching TBH (To Be Honest), a sustainable snacking company focused on hazelnut spreads.
After more than a decade in lifestyle media, Clifford has mastered the art of writing seriously about things that are fun—and writing fun things about people who take themselves very seriously. At Tatler Asia, he helped steer its flagship lists, Tatler’s Most Influential and Asia’s Most Stylish. And today, he leads T-Labs, Tatler Asia’s content innovation hub, where he continues the noble pursuit of lifestyle storytelling, spinning stories on wealth, entertainment, necessary style, Hallyu, Hollywood, beauty and more for audiences across Asia.
