Stranger Things, the Netflix original created by the Duffer Brothers, takes its audience back to the 1980s in the fictional town of Hawkins following a series of supernatural events. Upon the release of its first season, Stranger Things amassed a set of frenzy fanbase, averaging over 14.07 million adults between the ages 18–49 in the United States alone within the first 35 days of its release.
Thanks to Stranger Things, we're also witnessing a new generation of talent in Hollywood. It features a set of new young talents: Finn Wolfhard, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Noah Schnapp, Millie Bobby Brown, and more. In total, the series has also amassed over 31 Primetime Award nominations, winning six. As Millie Bobby Brown and friends are gearing up for their fourth season, here's a look at Stranger Things' cast members' life outside the series.
8 Winona Ryder
With Stranger Things, 50-year-old Golden Globe-winning actress Winona Ryder approached the latter stage of her career and propelled her name to younger audiences. At the time of the series premiere, Ryder was already a household name with two Golden Globe trophies and two Academy Award nominations and a career that spanned across generations. Despite having a four-year career hiatus from 2001 until 2005, she had her revival with The Darwin Awards and A Scanner Darkly.
7 David Harbour
Best known for his portrayal of the chief of sheriff Jim Hopper, David Harbour has amassed a set of loyal fanbase throughout the years. Before Stranger Things, the New York-based actor had a plethora of exciting titles in his filmography. He co-starred Jake Gyllenhaal in Brokeback Mountain, Daniel Craig in Quantum of Solace, Denzel Washington in Black Mass, and Margot Robbie in Suicide Squad. He also portrays the titular hero of Hellboy in 2019.
6 Finn Wolfhard
Ever since he made his acting breakthrough with Stranger Things, Finn Wolfhard has been elevating his name. He made his film breakthrough as Richie in the film adaptation of Stephen King's It and its 2019 sequel, It: Chapter Two. He also ventured into voice acting by providing voice works for Pugsley Adams in The Addams Family back in 2019.
Speaking of voice, the actor also launched his indie rock band called Calpurnia with longtime friends Malcolm Craig, Ayla Tesler-Mabe, and Jack Anderson. They signed to Canadian indie imprint Royal Mountain Records in 2017 and released their debut EP, Scout, a year later before splitting up in 2019.
5 Millie Bobby Brown
Hailed as one of the world's most influential people of 2018 by Time Magazine, Millie Bobby Brown's impact outside her acting world has been immersive. The two-time Emmy Award-nominated actress made her feature film debut alongside O'Shea Jackson Jr. in Godzilla: King of the Monsters, and it seems like she's able to escape that shadow of being a star of a big show like Stranger Things. Additionally, she's also been keeping herself busy as a successful cosmetic businesswoman with her beauty line florence by mills.
4 Gaten Matarazzo
Before reaching international stardom with Stranger Things, Gaten Matarazzo made a name for himself in theaters. He began his career on Broadway as Benjamin in Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, and as Gavroche in Les Misérables. An avid spokesperson of cleidocranial dysplasia (CCD) awareness, Matarazzo has spoken openly about his condition and raised fund for CCD Smiles, an NGO that focuses on giving monetary aid for CCD patients for their oral surgeries.
3 Caleb McLaughlin
Thanks to Stranger Things, Celeb McLaughin won his first Screen Actors Guild Award win for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series. Another former Broadway stage player, he has previously portrayed Young Simba in the musical version of The Lion King at Minskoff Theatre. McLaughlin also had a few interesting voice-role projects in his filmography, including as Ghost on Cartoon Network's Summer Camp Island. His debut film feature alongside Idris Elba, Concrete Cowboy, was just released in 2020.
2 Charlie Heaton
In addition to acting, Charlie Heaton has been quite preoccupied with his fatherhood life. He met Natalia Dyer, his Stranger Things co-star who portrayed his on-screen girlfriend, on the set and raised his son Archie whom he had from his previous relationship with Akiko Matsuura. Heaton has also ventured into a superhero film in the X-Men's spinoff The New Mutants.
"I had this turbulent, crazy year, and then the show came out in 2016, and it was like this," he recalled his crazy new-found fame in an interview with GQ, more specifically when he was detained at the LAX for cocaine possession.
1 Cara Buono
Before Stranger Things, Cara Buono was also a big name. She has recurring roles in The Sopranos and Mad Men, as well as film appearances in Hulk and Let Me In. She's been mostly keeping her private life on the downlow and living comfortably with her husband and her daughter in Greenwich Village in Lower Manhattan.
