The town of Hawkins can’t seem to catch a break as each year, the Upside Down finds a way to invade the peaceful setting and gives the kids of the show anything but a normal childhood. Being a teenager is hard enough with awkward puberty, crushes, and childhood bullies. Who needs a Demogorgon to make this phase harder?
But that’s where a lot of the strength of Stranger Things comes from. Offering a familiar coming of age yearly story while throwing in some nostalgic thrills along the way.
And as we watch the teens of Hawkins grow up, one might be wondering how old are these kids now after three solid seasons. Here are the kids ages in the show as well as real life.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEG3bmU_WaI
How old are the kids from Stranger Things in the show?
The Younger Crew
The first season took place in 1983 and every season follows another year of their lives–similar to the Harry Potter stories. Around the events of Season 1, Will Byers birthday was revealed, so estimating the rest of his friends’ ages is easiest when focusing on him.
Will was born on March 22, 1971, which makes him 12 in the first season and 14 by Season 3. This puts the rest of the crew–Mike, Dustin, Lucas, Max, and Eleven –around 13 or 14 as well. And this is assumed because their birthdays remain unknown.
Lucas’s sister Erica played a bigger role this time and was offered more to do plot-wise. And if one is curious about her age, her character bio has the young girl listed at 9 years old for Season 1. This places her around the age of 11 or 12 by Season 3.
The Older Crew
As far as the young adults–Nancy, Steve, Jonathan, and Billy–the oldest of the group is ex-badboy Steve, who was born in 1966. That places him at the age of 18 or 19. The rest of them share the year of 1967, which sets them in the age range of 17 or 18.
Newcomer Robin–who is Steve’s coworker turned best girl-pal– says in the show they were both classmates together and sat next to each other. So it’s safe to assume she is the same age range as Steve – between 17 and 19 years old.
How old are the Stranger Things cast?
Younger Cast
As far as the ages of the real-life actors, the actual answer to some might shock fans. For example, Caleb McLaughlin (the actor who plays Lucas) is currently 17 years old and the same goes for his “Mad” Max television girlfriend Sadie Sink.
Actors Gaten Matarazzo (Dustin) and Finn Wolfhard (Mike) are both old enough to drive with the glamorous age of sweet sixteen. Hard to believe considering Dustin still has a look of a teen waiting for a growth spurt.
The incredibly charming Millie Bobby Brown who plays Eleven — not that she needs an introduction– is giving her iconic understated performance at the joyous age of 15. Impressive for someone that young.
Last but not least of the youngsters is Noah Schnapp, who plays the constantly terrorized Will Byers. Of all the kid performers, Schnapp is the only actor that is the same age as his character on the show at 14 years old. And honestly, outside of Brown’s execution of Eleven, Schnapp does not get enough credit for the weight he carries in Seasons 1 and 2.
Older Cast
As tradition goes in Hollywood, the young adult cast is much older than their characters. Joe Keery (Steve) is the oldest of the group playing a teenager at the age of 27. Dacre Montgomery (Billy the bully) and Charlie Heaton (Jonathan Byers) are closer in age with Montgomery being 24 and Heaton a year older at 25.
And the last of the group, actresses Maya Hawke (Robin) and Natalia Dyer (Nancy) are the youngest of the older kids with Dyer at 22 and Hawke at 2o.
Considering the ages of each of these performers, their talent onscreen is shocking, especially with the vast age range of the audience that has fallen in love with the Upside Down. Going through the emotional roller-coaster that is puberty with these actors and actresses is only made more impressive when you think that several of them actually are going through the emotions of teenagerhood alongside their onscreen counterparts.
Actors like Noah Schnapp and Millie Bobby Brown prove that talent has no age threshold. These child and young adult actors are already household names and most of them haven’t even finished high school.
Stranger Things Season 3 is streaming now on Netflix.