By Megan Riedlinger
4:00am PDT, Jul 1, 2022
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It’s hard to believe it’s been nearly six years since “Stranger Things” first captivated Netflix audiences. Ahead of season 4 part 2 dropping on Netflix on July 1, 2022, Wonderwall.com is taking a look at how much the show’s young stars — seen here in the summer of 2016 — have changed in that time.
Keep reading to see all your favorite Hawkins, Indiana, residents then and now…
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Gaten Matarazzo had a Broadway background before being cast as Dustin Henderson, one of the curious kids of Hawkins, Indiana, on the Netflix hit “Stranger Things.” He was 13 when it debuted.
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When part 2 of season 4 of “Stranger Things” debuts in July 2022, Gaten Matarazzo will be just a few months shy of his 20th birthday. He’s landed another Netflix gig in addition to the hit show — hosting “Prank Encounters.”
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The role of Eleven on “Stranger Things” changed child star Millie Bobby Brown’s life. She was just 12 when the show debuted. Millie has since scored two Primetime Emmy nominations and two Screen Actors Guild Award nods during the show’s run.
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Millie Bobby Brown is nearly unrecognizable with her more mature styling at 18. She’s also now a movie star with roles in 2019’s “Godzilla: King of the Monsters” and its 2021 sequel, “Godzilla vs. Kong,” plus another Netflix project, 2020’s “Enola Holmes” and its upcoming sequel.
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Like co-star Galen Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin got his start on Broadway before scoring a role on the hit series “Stranger Things.” He played Young Simba in “The Lion King” a few years before landing the role of Lucas Sinclair. Caleb was 14 when the show premiered.
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Caleb McLaughlin is now 20 as part 2 of the fourth season of “Stranger Things” debuts. He has an NAACP Image Award for outstanding performance by a youth under his belt and starred in his first film, “Concrete Cowboy,” in 2020.
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Noah Schnapp already had some impressive credits under his belt before signing on to play Will Byers on “Stranger Things.” He got his start in Steven Spielberg’s Academy Award-winning flick “Bridge of Spies” and voiced Charlie Brown in 2015’s “The Peanuts Movie.” He was 11 when the first season of his popular Netflix show debuted.
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Noah Schnapp, now 17, got promoted to series regular back in 2017 for the show’s second season. He’s continued to star in films and launched his own YouTube channel in 2019.
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Finn Wolfhard, who plays Mike Wheeler, was 13 when the first season of “Stranger Things” debuted. Prior to landing the gig, he made his television debut on the CW series “The 100” and had a part on “Supernatural.”
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It’s hard to believe Finn Wolfhard is turning 20 in 2022! Since “Stranger Things” first hit the streaming service, the Canadian actor has made quite a name for himself in Hollywood, scoring a role in the remake of “It” in 2017 and its sequel, “It: Chapter Two,” in 2019. Finn, who’s also performed as a musician in the bands Calpurnia and The Aubreys, also lent his talents to another supernatural project — “Ghostbusters: Afterlife” — in 2021.
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Though she plays teenager Nancy Wheeler, Natalia Dyer was actually 21 when “Stranger Things” premiered. Prior to the Netflix gig, Natalia made her film debut in “Hannah Montana: The Movie” back in 2009 and appeared in some small indie films.
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Now 27, Natalia Dyer has continued to star on “Stranger Things” while appearing in a few independent films as well. The actress also found love on the set of the Netflix hit: She’s been dating co-star Charlie Heaton since 2016.
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Speaking of Charlie Heaton, the British star was actually a musician before he started dabbling in acting and landed a few roles on British dramas. He was 22 when audiences first saw him playing Jonathan Byers on “Stranger Things,” which really launched his career.
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Charlie Heaton is now 28 as season 4 of “Stranger Things” streams on Netflix. He’s appeared in some independent films since the show took off and notably started dating co-star Natalia Dyer the same year their show premiered.
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Steve Harrington is played by Joe Keery on “Stranger Things.” He was 24 when he started portraying a teen on the show and had primarily worked as a commercial actor before his career changed with the debut of the Netflix sci-fi show.
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Now 30, Joe Keery continues to star on “Stranger Things” and has continued to further his career with a role in the flick “Free Guy” in 2021. He also dabbles in music under the stage name Djo.
