Since the premiere of the penultimate season of Netflix’s Stranger Things hit the screens, it has smashed all kinds of streaming records. However, per Deadline, it missed the mark against the popular Korean drama Squid Game, currently logged as the most-watched show on the streaming platform. Nonetheless, the credit for this unprecedented global buzz indeed accrues to the showrunners, The Duffer brothers, and the actors who brought to life a stellar cast of characters to carry the energy of the series. Of course, before these actors became the faces of Stranger Things, there were parts of their acting journeys that are much lesser known to the fans and audiences alike.
While Stranger Things catapulted the careers of some actors and made them the breakout stars, some well-known actors, like Matthew Modine as Dr. Brenner and Winona Ryder as Joyce Byers, became an excellent addition to the predominantly young cast of the show. That said, as the series with an already-long list of characters in Hawkins comes to a close, the finale season, as teased by the Duffer Brothers: is expected to have no new additional characters, and by extension, no new actors will join the cast of Stranger Things, leaving room for audiences to further acquaint themselves with the pre-existing members. As we await the fifth and final season, here are six things you did not know about the cast of Stranger Things.
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6 Joe Keery’s Sister Pushed Him Towards Acting
Netflix
Joe Keery plays the lead role of Steve Harrington, a charming boy best known for his babysitting and demon-slaying craft. It might come as a surprise to Harrington’s fans that Keery was never into acting at an early age and therefore never heeded this as a profession for himself. In fact, Keery’s sister Caroline pushed him towards acting, and it was on her persuasion that he joined a drama club during his freshman year. From there, Keery continued performing and honing his craft and simultaneously dipped into music. Following this, he joined a psych-rock band Post Animal as a guitarist/vocalist, continuing until 2019. When the actor landed the role of Steve in Stranger Things, he was working as a waiter.
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
5 Gaten Matarazzo’s Rare Teeth Condition Almost Jeopardized His Career
A fan-favorite duo, Steve and Dustin’s iconic chemistry is often reflected in the show through their hilarious exchanges. In Stranger Things season 4, Steve goes further during one of these banters to tease Dustin about his teeth. Gaten Matarazzo indeed suffers from a rare teeth condition that has long impeded his acting career. The young actor got candid about this in the podcast Inside of You by Michael Rosenbaum. Gaten recalled several instances from his past where the casting directors would constantly say to him that they loved his performance, but he needed to get his teeth fixed, or he would have no luck in the industry.
4 Millie Bobby Brown Nearly Quit Acting
Millie Bobby Brown has back-to-back delivered several impressive performances, from Stranger Things to Enola Holmes, making her one of the most sought-after young actors in Hollywood. However, before becoming a breakout star, she had her fair share of hurtful casting experiences. In an interview with Allure, Brown recollected that a “powerful casting director” called her “too mature” for a ten-year-old. Brown also revealed that she almost quit acting after this encounter and was even reluctant to audition for the role of Eleven. However, her parents encouraged her to audition for this last role, and the rest, as we know, is history.
3 David Harbour Battled Depression
Unlike other young actors from the show, David Harbour amassed his fame and fortune in the later stages of his career. The actor was diagnosed with bipolar disorder at 26, which landed him in an institution. After this, he tried kick-starting his acting career quite a few times, but mostly as a journeyman actor, and ultimately led an unstable life, often finding himself anxious about rent payments and utility bills. These haunting circumstances tipped him into poverty-induced mental illness. Harbour revealed that even after winning the role of Hopper, he doubted the success of the show, but Stranger Things soared in popularity, turning his life around for the better.
2 Joseph Quinn Had a Role in Game of Thrones
Eddie Munson from Stranger Things has turned into an instant fan favorite character since the debut of season 4. However, before being a household name, Joseph Quinn had a bit-part, precisely two-minute, appearance in the fabled Game of Thrones television series. In the sequence, the actor plays the role of a soldier named Koner at Winterfell, who persistently refuses to let Arya Stark enter the kingdom. While that might have been a miss during the life of Game of Thrones, fans are now digging the internet to see him in other roles that went underseen.
1 Maya Hawke’s Parents Were Against Smaller Roles
In Stranger Things, Maya Hawke plays the titular character of Robin Buckley, a co-worker of Steve who never shies away from speaking her mind. Hawke has picked up her acting genes from her parents, Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman. The couple, now split, have largely lived under the lens of public life and, naturally, are aware of how whimsical the entertainment world can be, be it paparazzi buzz or annoying tabloids. Hawke revealed in an interview with The Guardian that thriving in such a life, her parents were quite unwilling to approve of her acting career if she were to do just walk-on roles in their movies or get carted along with them to red carpets. However, when she expressed acting as her choice in profession, they were supportive. Her debut role was in BBC’s 2017 adaptation of Little Women.
