How old is Mike Wheeler in season 4

Stranger Things season 4 is in full swing! After nearly a three-year-long hiatus, the popular sci-fi series returned to Netflix on May 27, and many would have noticed that the cast looks majorly different nowadays compared to their baby-faced characters in seasons 1 through 3. But that’s to be expected, right?

According to the official synopsis for Stranger Things season 4, it’s only been “six months since the Battle of Starcourt” from season 3. So how old would that make their characters?

The main cast members of the show were as young as 11 when they first started shooting scenes for the Netflix show, and we’ve watched them grow up alongside the series. But you’ll still probably be shocked to learn how old they’re supposed to be on the show.

Here’s how old the cast members of Stranger Things are compared to the ages of the characters they play in season four of the show.

Stranger Things character ages

In an interview ahead of the release of the newest season, Millie Bobby Brown was shocked to learn how old her character, Eleven, is on the show. When asked by the interviewer what fans of the show can expect from their characters in this season, Noah Schnapp launched into an explanation before being interrupted by Millie who questioned whether Will is older than her or not.

This led to Millie Bobby Brown confessing that she doesn’t know “how old Eleven is.” And while she originally believed that the roles they play would be a rough reflection of how old they are in real life, she was surprised to learn that her character is actually 14, compared to her real-life 18 years! Watch the interview below!

The Stranger Things crew may have answered a lot of our questions when they exposed Russian conspiracies, as we saw when we last left them in season 3 of the Netflix series. But there is still one big secret that needs to be uncovered — do the kids in the sci-fi show just look super young, or are they actually close to the age they're playing?

The hunt for talent who could mature in their roles first began for casting director Carmen Cuba way back in April 2015.

"We needed every single actor to have a subtlety and an inner life that didn't necessarily need words to define them, and we held the kids and teens to the same standard," Cuba told Backstage in a 2019 interview. "We weren't thinking of them as kid or teen actors in the process — the Duffer Brothers were really expecting them to be able to deliver a very rich human experience despite what age body they were in."

When we first headed to Hawkins, Indiana for Stranger Things Season 1, we were in November 1983. The highly anticipated sequel season Stranger Things 2 transported us into the fall of 1984, placing the story at the end of October and early November. The Duffer brothers then set the third season in July 1985. Finally, the current addition, Stranger Things season 4, is set in the spring of 1986.

Season 1 debuted on July 15, 2016, while seasons 2 and 3 came out on October 27, 2017, and July 4, 2019, respectively. With the fourth season coming out on May 27, 2022, there's a clear time gap between the Stranger Things world and ours. Only three years have passed on the show while six years have passed in real-time, meaning that while the actors may have been the same age as their characters when they first began filming, they have most likely surpassed their character ages by now.

As we finally get to binge the latest installment, Stranger Things 4, here's where we stand with cast ages IRL as well as their on-screen ages:

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Finn Wolfhard as Mike Wheeler

Actor age: 19, Born December 23, 2002

Character age: Born on April 7, 1971, according to the graphic novel , Mike was 12 in Season 1, 13 in Season 2, 14 in Season 3, and will be 15 in Season 4.

Where else you've seen him: If you're a horror movie fan, you probably saw him as Richie in the adaptation of Stephen King's It as well as It Chapter Two. We also saw him recently in the Ghostbusters reboot, Ghostbusters: Afterlife as new-kid-in-town Trevor. Coming up, we'll get to hear his voice acting debut in the animated musical, Pinocchio. Finn is also making his mark on the music scene, as a vocalist and guitarist in the indie rock band The Aubreys. He was previously a member of the group Calpurnia, until it dissolved in 2019 according to the band's Instagram page.

Millie Bobby Brown as Eleven

Actress age: 18, Born February 19, 2004

Character age: Born in 1971, Eleven was 12 in Season 1, 13 in Season 2, 13 or 14 in Season 3, and will be 14 or 15 in Season 4.

Where else you've seen her: Other than Stranger Things, Brown is best known for playing the titular role in another Netflix original, the movie Enola Holmes, in which she portrayed Sherlock Holmes's younger (but no less inquisitive) sister. Enola Holmes is due to have a sequel debuting this year. But this isn't the only two-part series she's appeared in. We also have seen her in Godzilla: King of Monsters and the 2021 sequel, Godzilla vs. Kong. She's been keeping booked and busy, as she's expected to star in and produce the upcoming The Girls I've Been and Damsel. Millie also serves as a youth ambassador for UNICEF and owns the cosmetic line florence by mills.

Gaten Matarazzo as Dustin Henderson

Actor age: 19, Born September 8, 2002

Character age: Born in 1971, Dustin was 12 in Season 1, 13 in Season 2, 13 or 14 in Season 3, and will be 14 or 15 in Season 4.

Where else you've seen him: While he was the face of the Netflix hidden camera prank show, Prank Encounters, in 2019, he's been up to more voice acting lately, voicing a camel in the upcoming animated movie Hump and adding his sound to the film My Father's Dragon. Gaten has also begun production for his co-starring role in the live-action comedy Honor Society according to Deadline. It was also announced on May 25 that the actor would be returning to his Broadway roots. Having last appeared on Broadway for the 2014 production of Les Misérables, Gaten is set to portray the role of Jared Kleinman in the Tony-winning musical Dear Evan Hansen beginning July 19, 2022.

Caleb McLaughlin as Lucas Sinclair

Actor age: 20, Born October 13, 2001

Character age: Born in 1971, Dustin was 12 in Season 1, 13 in Season 2, 13 or 14 in Season 3, and will be 14 or 15 in Season 4.

Where else you've seen him: Just like co-star Gaten, Caleb also got his start on Broadway, starring as young Simba in The Lion King, but he's since strictly shown his talents on-screen. In 2017, he appeared in The New Edition Story miniseries before playing Darius in Steven Soderbergh's Netflix movie High Flying Bird. Most recently, he was seen playing opposite Iris Elba in the feature film Concrete Cowboy, which is based on the novel Ghetto Cowboy by Greg Neri.

Noah Schnapp as Will Byers

Actor age: 17, Born October 3, 2004

Character age: As shown in the Season 2 episode "The Mind Flayer," Will was born on March 22, 1971, making him 12 in Season 1, 13 in Season 2, 14 in Season 3, and 14 or 15 in Season 4.

Where else you've seen him: Before his stint as missing kid Will Byers, Noah voiced the iconic role of Charlie Brown in The Peanuts Movie and played the role of Roger Donovan in Steven Spielberg's historical drama Bridge of Spies. Since then, he's appeared in a Panic! At the Disco music video, Drake's "In My Feelings" music video, and the Adam Sandler Netflix movie Hubie Halloween. Deadline reported that Schnapp had also landed a role in The Tutor where he will play a disturbed student with a secret obsession. Apart from acting, Noach launched a sustainability-focused snacking company called To Be Honest in 2021. He also was accepted into The University of Pennsylvania according to a tweet from Netflix.

Sadie Sink as Max Mayfield

Actress age: 20, Born April 16, 2002

Character age: Max was born in 1971, which makes her 13 when she first appears in Season 2, 13 or 14 in Season 3, and 14 or 15 in Season 4.

Where else you've seen her: Swifties would say that Sadie's most iconic role aside from Stranger Things was when she starred alongside Dylan O'Brien in Taylor Swift's short film All Too Well, but non-Swifities may remember her from The Glass Castle, Netflix's horror movie Eli, or the second installment and third installment of the Netflix's adaptation R. L. Stine's horror book series, Fear Street. The actress is also slated to appear in at least two films this year, including The Whale (also starring The Mummy actor, Brendan Fraser) and the drama flick Dear Zoe.

Joe Keery as Steve Harrington

Actor age: 30, Born April 24, 1992

Character age: Steve was born in 1966, making him 17 in Season 1, 18 in Season 2, 18 or 19 in Season 3, and 19 or 20 in Season 4.

Where else you've seen him: Did you know that Keery used to be a musician? It's true! Pre-Stranger Things fame, the actor was known for being a guitarist in the Chicago-based psych-rock band Post Animal. He's since used his BFA from DePaul University in a wide range of acting projects, including the Aaron Sorkin movie Molly's Game and indie film Spree. In 2021, Joe appeared in Free Guy, a video game adventure comedy led by Ryan Reynolds and directed by Stranger Things showrunner, Shawn Levy.

Dacre Montgomery as Billy Mayfield

Actor age: 27, Born November 22, 1994

Character age: Billy was born in 1967, which makes him 17 when he first appears in Season 2, 17 or 18 in Season 3, and 18 or 19 in Season 4.

Where else you've seen him: The Australian-born actor first rose to fame when he starred in the 2017 Power Rangers reboot. He then went on to appear in the horror film Better Watch Out and the rom-com The Broken Hearts Gallery. Coming up, you can head to the theaters on June 24 to see him in Baz Luhrmann's biopic about Elvis Presley, Elvis, where Dacre plays music producer Steve Binder. In addition to acting, Montgomery runs a podcast titled "DKMH", which features his own poetry.

Natalia Dyer as Nancy Wheeler

Actress age: 27, Born January 13, 1995

Character age: Nancy was born in 1967, making her 16 in Season 1, 17 in Season 2, 17 or 18 in Season 3, and 18 or 19 in Season 4.

Where else you've seen her: If you're into indie films, you probably recognize Natalia from titles like Velvet Buzzsaw, Tuscaloosa, and Yes, God, Yes. In more recent years, she's starred alongside Amanda Seyfried in the Netflix horror movie Things Heard and Seen, based on the book All Things Cease to Appear by Elizabeth Brundage. It seems like Natalia is a fan of the horror genre as she's currently filming the thriller All Fun and Games, also starring Asa Butterfield.

Charlie Heaton as Jonathan Byers

Actor age: 28, Born February 6, 1994

Character age: Jonathan was born in 1967, making him 16 in Season 1, 17 in Season 2, 17 or 18 in Season 3, and 18 or 19 in Season 4.

Where else you've seen him: The Stranger Things cast is full of musicians turned actors! Charlie played with a couple of rock bands when he was in his teens, including Comanechi and The Loons. As for acting credits, the star has appeared in The New Mutants as Samuel Guthrie / Cannonball, Shut In as Stephen Portman, and The Souvenir: Part II as Jim Dagger. While he hasn't said what project he will be working on next, we are sure it will be big as he's gained lots of popularity while playing the big brother figure on Stranger Things.

Maya Hawke as Robin Buckley

Actress age: 23, Born July 8, 1998

Character age: When Robin first stepped onscreen in Season 3, it was revealed that she is a school year behind Steve, making her born in 1968 and 17. In Season 4, she is either 17 or 18.

Where else you've seen her: The daughter of Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke has some serious acting chops. Educated at the prestigious Juilliard School, the actress has gone on to play the iconic role of Jo March in the BBC miniseries adaptation of Little Women, land a role in Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time… In Hollywood, and appeared in the first installment of Netflix's Fear Street trilogy. Coming up, you can catch her opposite Riverdale's Camila Mendes in the Netflix movie Strangers. Aside from acting, Maya dropped a folk-rock album in 2020 titled Blush.

Priah Ferguson as Erica Sinclair

Actress age: 15, Born October 1, 2006

Character age: Erica was born in 1975, meaning that she is 9 in Season 2, 9 or 10 in Season 3, and 10 or 11 in Season 4.

Where else you've seen her: Priah first appeared on screen in the 2018 comedy The Oath, and has a handful of TV and short film credits to her name such as FX Networks's show Atlanta created by Donald Glover, and the Civil War drama Mercy Street. Next up, she'll be playing Sydney in the movie Boo! and voicing one of the lead characters on a Netflix children's cartoon called My Dad the Bounty Hunter.

David Harbour as Jim Hopper

Actor age: 47, Born April 10, 1975

Character age: The canon book reveals that Hopper was 35 years old in 1977, which makes him born in 1942. That means that he is 41 in Season 1, 42 in Season 2, 42 or 43 in Season 3, and 43 or 44 in Season 4.

Where else you've seen him: Starting off with his Broadway career, the actor took part in the 1999 revival of The Rainmaker, going on to be nominated for a Tony Award for his performance in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?. Before hitting it big on Stranger Things, David had a couple of TV and film credits including Brokeback Mountain, The Green Hornet, End of Watch, and Between Us. If you are a superhero fan, you probably caught his performance as the title character in the superhero reboot film Hellboy or his portrayal of Alexei Shostakov/Red Guardian in the Marvel Cinematic Universe film Black Widow.

Winona Ryder as Joyce Byers

Actress age: 50, Born October 29, 1971

Character age: Joyce is revealed to be the same age as Jim Hopper in Stranger Things season 1, with the pair discussing their friendship in high school. Since Hopper was born in 1942, it's likely that Joyce shares the same birth year, making her 41 in Season 1, 42 in Season 2, 42 or 43 in Season 3, and 43 or 44 in Season 4.

Where else you've seen her: Winona has had a super successful career, taking home a Golden Globe Award in 1994, and has been nominated for many awards since then. Her most notable films include Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, Heathers, Black Swan, and Star Trek. In the future, Winona will be busy working on the sequel to Tim Burton's Beetlejuice which is set to debut in 2025.

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