By Megan Riedlinger
10:00pm PST, Dec 22, 2022
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"Stranger Things" continues to captivate Netflix audiences more than six years after its debut on the streaming service. To celebrate actor Finn Wolfhard's 20th birthday on Dec. 23, 2022, Wonderwall.com is taking a look at how much he and the rest of the hit show's young stars — seen here looking like babies the summer the series debuted — have changed and grown up.
Keep reading to see all your favorite young Hawkins, Indiana, residents then and now…
MORE: Millie Bobby Brown's most mature fashion moments
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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 turned 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. In 2022, he lent his voice to a character in "Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio."
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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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By the time he turned 21 in 2022, Caleb McLaughlin had earned an NAACP Image Award (for outstanding performance by a youth) and starred in his first film, 2020's "Concrete Cowboy," in addition to working on "Stranger Things."
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Like co-star Caleb McLaughlin, 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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Gaten Matarazzo turned 20 just a few months after the fourth season of "Stranger Things" debuted in the summer of 2022. 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 who had roles in 2019's "Godzilla: King of the Monsters" and its 2021 sequel, "Godzilla vs. Kong," plus a Netflix franchise, the 2020 movie "Enola Holmes" and its 2022 sequel.
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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, who turned 18 in 2022, 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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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 was 28 when season 4 of "Stranger Things" streamed on Netflix in 2022. 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." He's continued to further his career with a role in the 2021 flick "Free Guy." He also dabbles in music under the stage name Djo.
