‘It’s about trial and error’: Finn Wolfhard reveals the one thing he’d do differently during the height of ‘Stranger Things’ success

Finn Wolfhard has opened about his breakout role in Stranger Things, reflecting on the one thing he would do differently at the height of the show’s runaway success. 

Wolfhard, who portrays the character of Mike Wheeler in all seasons of the sci-fi series, reminisced on becoming an overnight sensation in a recent interview with People. Wolfhard instantly shot to household name status at the age of just 13, in the midst of the seismic cultural phenomenon that was Stranger Things’ debut season back in 2016. While the actor has gone on to star in different projects since then, including the upcoming comedy-horror Hell of a Summer, it was the Netflix show that started it all, though the overnight impact of the series was hard felt by the actor. 

“I don’t think I’d ever go back and do something over,” Wolfhard reflected, “but maybe I would go back to when the show first came out and blew up, and I would directly put myself into therapy.” The actor went on to say that the speed of Stranger Things’ success made it difficult to assess the show’s impact on his mental health in the moment, meaning he didn’t have the time to get the therapy he needed. “It was so crazy and overnight,” he said of season one’s breakout moment, “there was not really any time to think about that.”

While the benefit of hindsight has allowed Wolfhard to reflect candidly on that period of his life, the actor still admits that mistakes and tribulations were bound to occur, given his young age at the time of Stranger Things’ release. “I would end up probably making a mistake in a different way anyways,” he said, adding that “childhood, and life in general, is about trial and error.” It’s not the first time Wolfhard — who is gearing up for the release of Stranger Things’ fifth and final season this year — has reflected on the show’s impact on his mental health.

Speaking with GQ back in 2023, the actor said that while he was able to deal with his “whirlwind career” in its early stages, it began to catch up with him a few years later, when he started having panic attacks. “[I] did not talk about anything,” Wolfhard said of his struggles while juggling his career at such a young age, “[because] there was no time, or at least we didn’t feel [there was] at the time.” The actor said that looking back, there were things he “didn’t realize that I had to bury because of how I had to feel at work.” 

Wolfhard is one of multiple young castmates — including Millie Bobby Brown, Noah Schnapp and Sadie Sink — who are set to return for Stranger Things’ final season, which is expected to hit Netflix towards the end of this year. In the lead up to what will undoubtedly be another water cooler moment, we’ve been given a first look of the show’s fifth installment, as well as updates and teases courtesy of Jim Hopper actor David Harbour. Naturally, fans have been theorizing what to expect from the series finale, especially as Schnapp endures a wave of off-screen controversy. Here’s hoping Joseph Quinn somehow makes an appearance in season five, to quell the thirst of legions of Eddie Munson enthusiasts (myself included).