Finn Wolfhard [1] may be best known for his "Stranger Things [2]" character Mike Wheeler, but the 19-year-old Canadian actor actually has a stacked résumé packed with sci-fi and thriller roles, and even some music experience. While Netflix's supernatural phenomenon turned Wolfhard into a household name, he got his start in entertainment as a musician.
The singer/actor once served as a songwriter, lead vocalist, and guitarist for indie-rock band Calpurnia before the group broke up in 2019. Wolfhard later joined another indie music collective called The Aubreys, as one-half of a duo with drummer Malcolm Craig. But before then, Wolfhard was already hustling to make his name well-known.
He managed to snag roles on shows like "The 100" [3] and CW's "Supernatural" [4] between 2014 and 2015 before he finally got picked up for Netflix's sci-fi series, which is currently sweeping the platform for season four [5]. Since then, it's been nothing but major projects lined up for Wolfhard — he's even set to star in Guillermo del Toro's stop-motion rendition [6] of "Pinocchio [7]," hitting Netflix in December.
For more about the actor's impressive career, read ahead to learn about all of his notable TV and movie characters.
"Stranger Things"
Wolfhard's role as beloved Hawkins resident Mike Wheeler in "Stranger Things [8]" is, without a doubt, one of his biggest to date. Netflix's sci-fi phenomenon, which wrapped up its fourth season on July 1, centres around a group of teenagers in the '80s who find themselves battling a plague of supernatural forces haunting their Indiana town. Wolfhard's Mike has been a part of the "Stranger Things" journey since it first began in 2016, starring alongside other series stars like Millie Bobby Brown (Eleven), Caleb McLaughlin (Lucas), and Gaten Matarazzo (Dustin). The actor has won a SAG Award and earned a MTV Movie and TV Award nomination for his role in the show, too.
"Ghostbusters: Afterlife"
Wolfhard starred in "Ghostbusters: Afterlife" [9] as Trevor Spengler, grandson of former Ghostbuster Egon Spengler (played by Harold Ramis in the original '80s "Ghostbusters" films). At the time of his audition for the sequel, Wolfhard revealed at New York's 2021 Comic Con that he had no idea he was trying out for the staple franchise. "I didn't know what it was," he said of "Ghostbusters: Afterlife," Insider [10] reported. "I was kind of thinking, in the days after like, 'I wonder why it's so secretive. I wonder why there's such a big codename behind it.'"
"Carmen Sandiego"
In 2018, Wolfhard starred alongside Gina Rodriguez in Netflix's animated reboot series of "Carmen Sandiego." The show lasted four seasons with the streamer before it ended in January 2021.
Of portraying the role of Player, Carmen's sidekick, in the series, Wolfhard told People [11] that voicing his character required a "totally different skill set." "Everywhere I recorded — in Vancouver, Atlanta, and a couple of times in LA — people were so happy that Carmen and Player were coming back," he added. "I'm so proud to be a part of this."
"The Turning"
In Floria Sigismondi's thriller film adaptation "The Turning," based on 1898 novel "The Turn of the Screw," Wolfhard took on the role of 15-year-old Miles Fairchild [12]. The movie tells the story of nanny Kate Mandell (Mackenzie Davis) who's hired to look after the emotionally distant Miles and his sister Flora (Brooklynn Prince) at an isolated mansion in the Maine countryside. There, a series of strange events plague the two siblings and Kate as the latter soon learns the estate is haunted by a horrific entity.
"The Addams Family"
After "Carmen Sandiego," Wolfhard dipped his toe back into the world of animation to play Pugsley in the 2019 reboot of "The Addams Family." Playing the role of a devious little brother, Wolfhard told FabTV [13] in 2019 that "it was an honour" to be a part of the classic franchise. However, for the 2021 sequel, his role as Pugsley was taken over by Euphoria's Javon Walton [14].
"The Goldfinch"
In one of his more dramatic projects, Wolfhard starred in "The Goldfinch" as young Boris. The 2019 John Crowley-directed drama — a film adaptation of the best-selling novel of the same name — follows 13-year-old Theodoure Decker (played by both Ansel Elgort and Oakes Fegley), who's adopted by a wealthy family after his mother is killed in a bombing at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art. The tragedy changes the course of his life, but he finds solace in a painting, "The Goldfinch," he steals from the museum.
"It"
Around the time that "Stranger Things [15]" blew up, Wolfhard found a way to be a part of another supernatural phenom. In "It," the horrifying blockbuster remake that reintroduced us to evil clown Pennywise, Wolfhard starred as Richie Tozier — one of the members of the Losers Club, aka the group of bullied kids terrorized by Pennywise in Derry, Maine. The actor reprised his role again in the sequel film, "It Chapter Two."
"It Chapter Two"
In the continuation of the 2017 horror flick, Wolfhard reprised his role in "It Chapter Two" as young Richie Tozier, as his older character, once again, tries to take down Pennywise — alongside the other members of the Losers Club — after the villain's return to Derry, Maine 27 years later. In 2019, Wolfhard confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter [16] that he and his other young costars were de-aged with CGI for the sequel, as they all noticeably grew up after filming the 2017 movie.
"Supernatural"
Before catching his big break with "Stranger Things [17]," Wolfhard had a brief guest appearance on the 11th season of The CW's "Supernatural." In 2015, the actor starred in episode five, titled "Thin Lizzie," as Jordie Pinsky — the son of a man who was a victim of a murder, which "took place at the childhood home of alleged murderer Lizzie Borden," CinemaBlend [18] reported.
"The 100"
Wolfhard had a very minor role in sci-fi drama "The 100" in 2014, guest starring as young nomadic grounder Zoran, who befriends Isaiah Washington [19]'s Jaha in the desert in season two.