It’s become a long-running joke that the long waits between seasons of “Stranger Things” caused the young cast to look much older than their character counterparts – but just how much of a gap is there?
The fifth and final season of “Stranger Things” is finally airing almost a decade after it debuted on Netflix. Crunching some numbers, that means there were some lengthy waits between seasons and nobody changes more drastically year over year like kids. Now the show’s leads have outstripped their onscreen characters in age by more than a few years.
Here’s how old Eleven, Mike, Dustin, Lucas, Will and the rest of the kids in the show are compared to the actors playing them in Season 5.
Eleven
Eleven’s age in Season 5: 17
Millie Bobby Brown’s age: 21
Mike Wheeler
Mike’s age in Season 5: 17
Finn Wolfhard’s age: 22 – turning 23 before “Stranger Things” Season 5, Part 2 and 3
Dustin Henderson
Dustin’s age in Season 5: 17
Gaten Matarazzo’s age: 23
Lucas Sinclair
Lucas’ age in Season 5: 17
Caleb McLaughlin’s age: 24
Will Byers
Will’s age in Season 5: 17
Noah Schnapp’s age: 21
Max Mayfield
Max’s age in Season 5: 17
Sadie Sink’s age: 23
Steve Harrington
Steve’s age in Season 5: 20
Joe Keery’s age: 33
Nancy Wheeler
Nancy’s age in Season 5: 19
Natalia Dyer’s age: 30
Jonathan Byers
Jonathan’s age in Season 5: 20
Charlie Heaton’s age: 31
Robin Buckley
Robin’s age in Season 5: 19
Maya Hawke’s age: 27
