Stranger Things Star Reveals Biggest Regret About Early Netflix Seasons

Stranger Things turned its ensemble of child actors into household names, and Finn Wolfhard admits that it’s difficult to adjust to that kind of notoriety overnight. The actor, who plays Mike Wheeler on the series, just spoke to PEOPLE about his experience growing up on the set of global sensation, revealing that the one thing he’d do differently if he could is keep an eye on his own mental health. Wolfhard said he doesn’t really have any strong regrets, but he now thinks it would have been a good idea to begin therapy as soon as the show started blowing up. Even then, he acknowledges that it would have taken some foresight and careful planning to get this right.

“I don’t think I’d ever go back and do something over, but maybe I would go back to when the show first came out and blew up, and I would directly put myself into therapy,” he said. “But it was so crazy and overnight, that there was not really any time to think about that.”

Wolfhard was 13 when Stranger Things debuted in 2016, and is now 22 years old as the final season approaches. Before that, he had small parts as a child actor on shows including The 100 and Supernatural. He said that he believes mistakes are a natural part of growing up for everyone, and he doesn’t hold any of his own missteps against himself too much.

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“I would end up probably making a mistake in a different way anyways,” he added. “I think childhood, and life in general, is about trial and error.”

Wolfhard has previously opened up about his experience of teenage fame, including the anxiety and panic attacks that began to plague him as his reputation grew. He 2023, he told GQ that believed he had unconsciously hidden his struggles from those around him due to the very nature of his career, noting that he “had to feel” a certain way in front of the camera. This emotional self-manipulation caught up with the actor.

Wolfhard’s co-stars of the same age have also been candid about their experiences of fame — last month for example, Millie Bobby Brown told Vanity Fair that she doesn’t “have many friends, because of who I am. I didn’t go to school, so I don’t have the best social skills when it comes to people my own age and friendships. I struggle with that quite a bit. I missed out on a few things. But I’m working through them.”

The child stars will be able to put that chapter behind them very soon as Stranger Things Season 5 is expected to premiere sometime this year on Netflix. The previous seasons are streaming there now.