“Stranger Things” premiered in 2016 and immediately exploded. Created by Matt and Ross Duffer, the show’s infectious mix of homage and horror turned it into streaming TV’s first true megahit. For the youthful cast, sudden fame was its own kind of Upside Down, a place that resembled the real world but was disorienting and undeniably different.
“You’re seeing things that other people aren’t necessarily seeing, and the only people you’re sharing it with are these friends,” Finn Wolfhard, now 22, recalled recently.
The first part of the fifth and final season of “Stranger Things” is now streaming on Netflix. (More episodes will arrive on Christmas, the finale on New Year’s Eve.) In interviews, the young stars — all adults now, the oldest in their 30s — looked back on the show and how it shaped them.
Noah Schnapp as Will
“Season 1 dropped while I was at camp, and you couldn’t have any real contact with the outside world. I remember my mom sending letters telling me I just hit 10,000 Instagram followers and got a fan page, and just the awe of being a 10-year-old kid running to my friends, like: ‘Guys! I’m famous!’”
“Amid all the chaos and the attention, the other cast members kept me grounded. I think if I’d been alone, I would be a disaster.”
Millie Bobby Brown as Eleven
“The other day a friend asked if I had ever been to Washington, and I was like, ‘Yeah, I met Obama.’ It was a different kind of childhood, but it was beautiful in its own unique way.”
“We were living every day like it was our last, hugging and talking and spending more time together. Just making that effort. Filming past seasons, we took it for granted because you’re like, ‘See you next year!’ But we’re not going to see each other next year.”
Finn Wolfhard as Mike
“The show became so big overnight, and that was the most insane feeling. And the only people who can relate to that are the other actors.”
“I saw a bunch of the cast in New York, and when I left it was this horrible feeling, like separation anxiety. There’s been this intense love and sense of belonging for so long. So that will be hard to get used to.”
Gaten Matarazzo as Dustin
“People who start acting when they’re very young, there’s a stigma about them losing their way or getting caught up in the muck of it all. I think we were able to rise above that.”
“There were lots of tears, but there was security in knowing we’ll be friends for the rest of our lives. I don’t think you can spend this formative of a time with people and not be locked in for the long haul.”
Caleb McLaughlin as Lucas
“There was a balance the Duffers gave us — even when we were on set, they allowed us to be kids. They allowed us to express and live in our full nature of adolescence.”
“Though I understand why it’s ending, I never thought this day would come. I’m going to always be friends with everyone and have a relationship, but it won’t be the same.”
Maya Hawke as Robin
“I didn’t get over my new kid syndrome until Season 5. Then it was like in every joyful moment, the Abba song ‘Slipping Through My Fingers’ was playing in my head. So I had a really hard time.”
“The thing that’s so beautiful is that this show is all about friendship, loyalty, bravery and togetherness, and that is also what I will take from it on a personal level.”
Charlie Heaton as Jonathan
“It became such a huge show, but each new season was like coming back to camp. All that noise quiets down and you’re back with these people making this thing, and it’s like family.”
“Seeing the kids all turn into adults and individuals, I’m so proud of all of them. They’ve grown up in this spotlight, and they’re amazing. And they’re all doing it in their own way.”
Natalia Dyer as Nancy
“It started so small: It’s a town in the middle of nowhere with a monster. I had no idea I’d eventually be, like, filming in water tanks and doing all these crazy sequences.”
“It’s all my 20s, so it really does feel like a chapter. Working on this show helped form who I am as an actor and a person.”
Joe Keery as Steve
“We’re bound by being in something that gained notoriety pretty much overnight, but it all happened to us together. So if there’s ever some weird experience, we’ve got this gang of people we can bring it to, to be a little support unit.”
“You’re looking back at the whole 10-year period. You’re experiencing all these things for the last time, the last costume fitting or haircut, the last scene. Everything has a deeper meaning, and it’s impossible to escape the emotions. It’s the full spectrum.”
Sadie Sink as Max
“We would do night shoots and play hide-and-seek in the pumpkin patch. Stuff like that sticks out, times when we were on this serious TV show set but still just kids at the end of the day.”
“That last day was kind of surreal. It felt like I was grieving something. I was saying goodbye to childhood, in a way.”
“Stranger Things” images via Netflix.
Jeremy Egner is the television editor, overseeing coverage of the medium and the people who make it. He joined The Times in 2008.
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