Over the past decade, the show’s child stars have found success with a wide range of film, TV, theater, and hosting projects.

Stranger Things turns 10: See how the kids of Hawkins have grown over the past decade

Over the past decade, the show’s child stars have found success with a wide range of film, TV, theater, and hosting projects.

By Sezin Devi Koehler

and Rachel LaBonte

July 15, 2026 4:30 p.m. ET

Leave a Comment

The kids of ‘Stranger Things’ season 1; the cast in ‘Stranger Things’ season 5. Credit:

Courtesy of Netflix (2)

They grow up so fast, don’t they?

Ten years ago, *Stranger Things* premiered on Netflix, introducing an adorkable ensemble of pre-teen *Dungeons & Dragon* players that stumble into an inter-dimensional conspiracy bubbling over with covert military experiments and geopolitical implications.

Created by Matt and Ross Duffer, *Stranger Things’* scope grew alongside its popularity, with each season becoming more ambitious (and more difficult to produce). As years passed in between seasons, its core cast blew past puberty and grew into distinctive artists, branching off into directing, awards fare, music, reality TV, and Broadway, among other pursuits.

July 15, 2026 marks the hit series’ 10th anniversary, an occasion that is not lost on its creators. “We’re feeling so many emotions today. Nostalgic, proud, and, yeah, a little sad too, that the decade-long journey of making *Stranger Things* has come to an end,” the Duffers said in a statement. “But above all, we feel grateful — for our amazing cast, who we watched grow into wonderful human beings; for the hundreds of brilliant artists who devoted so much of themselves bringing the story to life; and for you, the fans, whose dedication, patience, and passion fueled all of us throughout the years”

Executive producer and frequent series director Shawn Levy added, “One of the greatest joys of this past decade has been watching these characters, and our incredible cast, grow up alongside the fans who have made Hawkins a place they return to again and again.”

With the series now complete and celebrating a major birthday, let’s see how the *Stranger Things* cast has grown over the years — and how they’ve laid the groundwork for their post-Hawkins careers.

Millie Bobby Brown as Eleven

Millie Bobby Brown as Eleven in ‘Stranger Things’ season 1; Brown as Eleven in ‘Stranger Things’ season 5.

Courtesy of Netflix (2)

Millie Bobby Brown’s Eleven has been the cornerstone of *Stranger Things *since its first season. A gifted telekinetic whose powers are coveted by the U.S. government, Eleven spends much of the series fleeing those who want to exploit her while trying to learn how to live, love, and learn like a normal teenager.

Brown, now 22, looks back fondly on the show’s early seasons, especially the shaved head she rocked in season 1. “Honestly, I still to this day loved the experience and I would do it again,” she said on the *Call Her Daddy* podcast. “I always tell [my husband], for my first baby, I want to shave my hair off. It was really liberating, I would suggest it for anyone — any girl.”

The English actress parlayed her Emmy-nominated performance into starring roles in blockbusters like *Godzilla: King of the Monsters* (2019) and several Netflix projects, including the *Enola Holmes* franchise (2020–present), which she also produces, and *Damsel* (2024), on which she doubles as an executive producer.

She also led Netflix’s *The Electric State *(2025), directed by *Avengers: Endgame* directors Joe and Anthony Russo, and most recently, she returned as the title character in the third *Enola Holmes* movie. She’ll also reunite with her *Stranger Things* costar David Harbour for a brand-new Netflix series that will once again have them play father and daughter — this time, however, they’re spies.

Brown married Jake Bongiovi, the son of rocker Jon Bon Jovi, in 2024. A year later, the couple adopted an infant daughter.

Finn Wolfhard as Mike Wheeler

Finn Wolfhard as Mike in ‘Stranger Things’ season 1; Wolfhard as Mike in ‘Stranger Things’ season 5.

Courtesy of Netflix (2)

Born in Vancouver, Finn Wolfhard appeared in a few music videos and TV shows (including *Supernatural*) before landing the role of Mike Wheeler, who often serves as Dungeon Master when role-playing with pals Will (Noah Schnapp), Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo), and Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin).

Ahead of the series finale, Wolfhard was keenly aware of the pressure of sticking the landing.

“It felt really good to shoot [the finale], and that’s such a rare thing,” he told *GQ*. “It is true, though. People are always hyper-critical of [finales]. And I feel like, after seeing so many finales, I just do feel like we did a great job.”

How 'Stranger Things' ends: The fates of the Hawkins gang revealed

'Stranger Things' cast says goodbye to the series after a decade

Wolfhard didn’t waste time pursuing a film career following the success of *Stranger Things*‘ first season. He joined another youthful ensemble in the horror blockbuster *IT* (2017) and helped lead a pair of *Ghostbusters* films (2021–2024). He also directed a short film, *Night Shifts*, in 2020, and wrote, directed, produced, and starred in the 2025 slasher *Hell of a Summer* alongside Billy Bryk.

“I definitely am excited to finish *Stranger Things* and see what’s out there after,” he told EW in 2023. “I’ve tried not to think about it or process how sad it’s gonna be, obviously, but it’s gonna be a graduation of sorts for all of us.”

A prolific musician, Wolfhard has released multiple singles with bands like Calpurnia and the Aubreys. In June 2025, he dropped his debut solo album, *Happy Birthday. *

He’s currently cowriting an adaptation of Bob Mehr’s *Trouble Boys: The True Story of the Replacements* with his dad, Eric Wolfhard. “One of my parents’ first dates was to a Replacements concert. Then I was born!” Wolfhard wrote in an October 2025 Instagram post confirming the news. “As [Paul] Westerberg once said ‘Let’s let em down.’”

Gaten Matarazzo as Dustin Henderson

Gaten Mattarazzo as Dustin in ‘Stranger Things’ season 1; Mattarazzo as Dustin in ‘Stranger Things’ season 5.

Courtesy of Netflix (2)

Gaten Matarazzo was already a Broadway veteran when he joined *Stranger Things* as the foul-mouthed, big-hearted Dustin, one of the more grounding presences in the show’s core cast.

While Matarazzo remains a regular on the stage — in 2023, he starred in a Broadway revival of *Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street *— he’s proven himself to be a natural host and TV personality. He appeared on episodes of *Ridiculousness, Lip Sync Battle, *and* Drop the Mic, *and even hosted Netflix’s hidden-camera prank show *Prank Encounters* (2019–2021).

He’s also embraced voice work, with leading roles on *Lego Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy* (2024–2025) and Andy Serkis’ adaptation of George Orwell’s *Animal Farm*. Next up is a buzzy role in Lin-Manuel Miranda’s latest directorial effort, *Octet,* where he will star alongside Rachel Zegler, Amanda Seyfried, Jonathan Groff, and Sheryl Lee Ralph.

The 23-year-old actor, who was born with cleidocranial dysplasia (CCD), is also an active philanthropist, having worked with organizations that provide corrective oral surgeries for those in need.

Caleb McLaughlin as Lucas Sinclair

Caleb McLaughlin as Lucas in ‘Stranger Things’ season 1; McLaughlin as Lucas in ‘Stranger Things’ season 5.

Courtesy of Netflix (2)

Caleb McLaughlin’s Lucas is as loyal as he is hot-headed, even as he’s drifted away from his old pals (and their *D&D* enthusiasm) to embrace his athletic talents. He also struck up a romance with Max (Sadie Sink), whose troubled family uprooted to the show’s setting of Hawkins, Ind., in season 2.

The 24-year-old New York native started his career on stage, playing a young Simba in *The Lion King *on Broadway (2012–2014). He went on to star alongside Idris Elba in Netflix’s *Concrete Cowboy *(2020).

His other notable film credits include Steven Soderbergh’s *High Flying Bird *(2019) and Lee Daniels’ *The Deliverance *(2024), as well as *Shooting Stars* (2023), a LeBron James biopic in which he costars as basketball player-turned-coach Dru Joyce III. Most recently, he voiced the lead character in Sony’s animated sports hit *GOAT* (2026).

Season 5 was a big one for Lucas, who watched Max die at the hands of Vecna (and get resurrected at the hands of Eleven) at the end of season 4. One of the most intense sequences finds Lucas protecting a still-comatose Max while a horde of demodogs chases him through a hospital. Reflecting on how he prepared for the scene, McLaughlin told EW, “It was an emotion that I wanted to come naturally. I have the honest privilege to be working with such an amazing actress to help me get to that level of emotion or an understanding of emotion.”

Noah Schnapp as Will Byers

Noah Schnapp as Will in ‘Stranger Things’ season 1; Schnapp as Will in ‘Stranger Things’ season 5.

Courtesy of Netflix (2)

Poor Will. Aside from Eleven, the bowl-cutted, would-be wizard played by Noah Schnapp has been the series’ most put-upon character, from the prolonged trauma of his encounter with the Mind Flayer to his strained relationship with Mike, Dustin, and Lucas.

But he was essential to season 5, according to co-creator Matt Duffer. “Because the story really began with Will and his disappearance, it felt, in order to go full circle, it needed to really end with him in so many ways,” Matt told EW. “In the last couple seasons, we hadn’t really centered much of the show on Will. So there was so much to explore with him from a character perspective and plot perspective.”

A year before his career took off in Hawkins, Schnapp enjoyed an early dose of stardom when he played the son of Tom Hanks’ character in Steven Spielberg’s *Bridge of Spies *(2015). That same year, he voiced none other than Charlie Brown in *The Peanuts Movie*.

Though *Stranger Things *and education — namely at UPenn’s Wharton School of Business — have been his full-time gigs, the 21-year-old actor has since landed roles in Adam Sandler’s *Hubie Halloween* (2020) and indie thriller *The Tutor* (2023).

*Stranger Things*, however,* *was life-changing for Schnapp on both professional and personal levels, as Will’s struggles with his sexuality helped Schnapp come to terms with his own.

“Once I did fully embrace that Will was gay, it was just an exponential speed towards accepting it for myself,” he said in 2023 after officially coming out via TikTok. “I think if I never played that character, I probably would still be closeted.” In the wake of Will’s big coming out scene in season 5, Schnapp told EW that the scene was like he had “the chance to sit down and speak from the heart. For a lot of the cast members, it helped them actually understand even more of my own journey. They told me that.”

Natalia Dyer as Nancy Wheeler

Natalia Dyer as Nancy in ‘Stranger Things’ season 1; Dyer as Nancy in ‘Stranger Things’ season 5.

Curtis Baker/Netflix; Courtesy of Netflix

Kudos to Natalia Dyer’s Nancy Wheeler for having one of the more enjoyable arcs throughout *Stranger Things*‘ five seasons. She debuted as something of a goody two-shoes, but later established herself as a relentlessly curious journalist with a surprising knack for firearms.

Ahead of season 5, Dyer reflected on her inextricable link with the character that has come to define her.

“Over time you do feel closer and closer to this character, and you’re like, ‘Is it coming towards me, or am I going towards it?’” she said in conversation with costar Maya Hawke in *Hero*. “Obviously this character does not encompass all of you, and it’s not exactly you, but… you also get a sense of growing up during this whole process, and it feels very beautiful in a smudgy way, all those things are a little blurred, lived together and interacted with.”

This was just the second screen role for the Nashville native, but it launched a film career that’s included genre curiosities like *Velvet Buzzsaw* (2019) and leading roles in the indie dramas *Yes, God, Yes* (2019) and *Tuscaloosa *(2019). She also starred on Peacock’s *Based on a True Story* in 2023.

Dyer has been in a relationship with Charlie Heaton, who plays Nancy’s love interest Jonathan Byers, since 2016.

Charlie Heaton as Jonathan Byers

Charlie Heaton as Jonathan in ‘Stranger Things’ season 1; Heaton as Jonathan in ‘Stranger Things’ season 5.

Courtesy of Netflix (2)

Charlie Heaton’s Jonathan Byers, the older brother of Will, began the show as an outcast with an interest in photography. His journey has seen several highs and lows, with season 4 in particular finding him adrift (and mostly stoned).

But season 5 gave Heaton plenty to do. “There are some scenes in this finale, especially towards the end, where it might be the most honest work I’ve ever had the opportunity to do,” he told *Wonderland* ahead of the premiere. “I was just looking at [each cast member] being like, ‘I love you. You are here in this one moment. I don’t think I’ll ever have that experience again.’”

Within a few months of the show’s premiere, Heaton played Naomi Watts’ troubled son in *Shut In *(2016). He went on to appear in *Marrowbone *(2017), Marvel’s ill-fated *The New Mutants *(2020), and Joanna Hogg’s acclaimed *The Souvenir Part II *(2021). In between, he gigged with a number of punk bands.

Soon after *Stranger Things* ended, he played a financial journalist in season 4 of HBO’s *Industry, *and will soon star in the upcoming Netflix series *Below* with Josh Hartnett.

The 32-year-old actor has been dating Dyer since 2016 and has a son, born in 2014, from a previous relationship.

“It’s been a gift to work with my best friend,” he told *Wonderland* about working alongside Dyer on the show. “To be able to have a shared experience with your partner about the anxiety when you don’t get a job — I know what that feels like, she knows what that feels like. You can be there to talk about it, or when you have a s--- day at work, or come away from a scene and you didn’t think it worked. To be able to both understand each other on that level is great.”**

Sadie Sink as Max Mayfield

Sadie Sink as Max in ‘Stranger Things’ season 2; Sink as Max in ‘Stranger Things’ season 5.

Courtesy of Netflix (2)

Sadie Sink’s Max was a late arrival to the gang, arriving in the show’s second season alongside her stepbrother Billy (Dacre Montgomery) before linking up with the boys and helping Eleven develop in the real world.

Season 4 turned out to be a pivotal season for the character. After running up that hill, she ran afoul of Vecna, who killed her in the season’s final episode. Eleven was able to resurrect her, but Max nevertheless remained unresponsive in a hospital bed by season’s end, which became a vital story thread throughout season 5.

Speaking with EW ahead of season 5, Sink reflected on feeling like “the new kid” for much of her run on the show. “Doing press for season 2, people knew who the boys were, but nobody knew who I was yet,” she said. “That was kind of nice, to be sheltered by that for a little bit. It also carried on into the later seasons where I still very much felt like, ‘I don’t know if people like my character, if I’m a welcomed addition to the show.’ Now it’s season 5 and it’s all I’ve known, so I don’t really feel like the new kid anymore.”

Prior to joining *Stranger Things*, Sink had a handful of movie and TV parts under her belt, not to mention a stage career that included stints in *Annie *and *The Audience *on Broadway.

After joining the show, Sink booked major roles in Netflix’s *Fear Street *trilogy (2021) and Darren Aronofsky’s Oscar-winning *The Whale *(2022). She became the envy of Swifties everywhere when she starred in the pop star’s “All Too Well” short film. In 2025, she scored a Tony nomination for her leading turn in *John Proctor Is the Villain *on Broadway.

With Max Mayfield behind her, the 24-year-old Texan will next appear in a yet-to-be-announced role in *Spider-Man: Brand New Day.*

Joe Keery as Steve Harrington

Joe Keery as Steve Harrington in ‘Stranger Things’ season 1; Keery as Steve in ‘Stranger Things’ season 5.

Curtis Baker/Netflix; Courtesy of Netflix

Joe Keery’s snobby, snarky Steve Harrington nearly bit the dust in *Stranger Things*‘ first season, but the creators were so charmed by the Chicago actor and musician’s performance that they kept him around (and gave him a full-blown face turn).

Keery discussed Steve’s “big brother role” in a November 2025 chat with *Hero*. “I think for me, it was learning about how the person who he has been up to this point deals with the maturing of the younger people around him,” he said. “Having this big brother role was important for him and important for the show, and I think it’s cool to see how that dynamic changes while the other characters are growing up.”

Keery’s breakthrough as Steve led to key supporting roles in *Free Guy *(2021) and the fifth season of FX’s *Fargo* (2023–2024). The 34-year-old recently played himself — starring in a fictional biopic of the band Pavement — in Alex Ross Perry’s 2024 experimental documentary *Pavements*.

A longtime musician, Keery is currently releasing music and touring with his solo outfit, Djo. He even wrote a song about his onscreen* *romantic rival Charlie Heaton for his most recent album, *The Crux*.

***Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with our ******EW Dispatch newsletter******.***

Maya Hawke as Robin Buckley

Maya Hawke as Robin in ‘Stranger Things’ season 3; Hawke as Robin ‘Stranger Things’ season 5.

Courtesy of Netflix (2)

Maya Hawke, the daughter of Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman, joined *Stranger Things* in its third season as Robin, Steve’s queer coworker at Scoops Ahoy.

“I was actually so happy, no spoilers, about some of the last scenes and what was happening,” the actress told Collider about the series’ conclusion. “I found myself extremely happy with where they took the characters at the end. It was everything I dreamed it would be.”

Over the past few years, Hawke headlined 2022’s *Do Revenge *and costarred in a pair of acclaimed 2023 films: Wes Anderson’s *Asteroid City *and Bradley Cooper’s *Maestro*. That same year, she portrayed the influential writer Flannery O’Connor in *Wildcat* (2023), which was directed by her father.

Next up for the 28-year-old actress is *Sunrise on the Reaping, *a prequel to the *Hunger Games *franchise*.*

- Sci-Fi & Fantasy Shows

Original Article on Source

Source: “EW Sci-Fi”