A story about a younger actor looking up to an older star recently made the creators of Stranger Things reflect on the show’s own past. At a recent event for the final season, co-creator Matt Duffer shared a memory of how Finn Wolfhard once admired his older co-star, Joe Keery.
During a panel at the Paley Center in New York on December 18, Duffer described watching a new, young actor on set follow Wolfhard around “like a puppy dog”. He said this was a “full-circle” moment because it reminded him of Wolfhard’s own behavior during the show’s early seasons. “That’s exactly how Finn was with Joe [Keery] back in the day,” Duffer explained. “I mean, Finn followed Joe around like a little puppy dog. It was so cute”. Wolfhard, who was 12 when the show began, confirmed the dynamic, joking, “And then Joe would follow me around”.
The Mentor Relationship That Started a Decade Ago
The friendship between Wolfhard and Keery began when Stranger Things first started filming in 2016. Wolfhard has spoken about Keery’s influence, calling him a “cool, older brother” figure. At the time, Wolfhard was 12 years old and Keery was 22.
Wolfhard credits Keery with shaping his musical tastes and creative path. “Joe was a huge influence for me, and still is,” Wolfhard said during an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. “He was one of the first people I ever knew that was actually in a band. Before ‘Stranger Things’ came out… He introduced me to a ton of music that I think really informed everything”. He concluded the thought by saying, “I wouldn’t be here without Joe”. Both actors are musicians outside of the show. Keery was a founding member of the band Post Animal and now releases solo music as Djo, while Wolfhard performed with the band Calpurnia and later formed The Aubreys.
Wolfhard Pays the Mentorship Forward in Final Season
Matt Duffer’s story highlighted how Wolfhard has now stepped into the mentor role himself during the filming of the show’s fifth and final season. The co-creator said he “loved bringing in the younger guys” and watching one young actor in particular admire Wolfhard.
Wolfhard reflected on this experience, noting how it mirrored his own early days on set. “I got to kind of weirdly do what these guys did in the first season, which is kind of protect…” he said at the Paley Center panel. “It almost felt like I was protecting like a younger version of myself or that we were, this season, protecting versions of our younger selves. And that was really fun”. He also joked about the generational gap, adding that the new child actors “are all Gen Alpha, and I don’t know any…”.
Co-Stars Were Protective in Early Years
The protective instinct Wolfhard described is something he benefited from as a young actor. A resurfaced clip from a 2017 fan event shows an example of this. During a panel at San Diego Comic-Con, moderator Patton Oswalt made an inappropriate comment directed at the then-14-year-old Wolfhard, introducing him as “an actor born with the greatest porn name ever”.
In the clip, Wolfhard’s older co-stars Joe Keery and David Harbour are immediately seen reacting. They encouraged Wolfhard to “ignore” the comment and gave Oswalt a “warning glare”. Oswalt later apologized for his remarks. Fans online have recently praised Keery and Harbour for their quick response in that uncomfortable situation.
Cast and Creators Reflect as the Series Ends
The final season of Stranger Things is currently being released in parts. The first volume of episodes arrived in late November. The second volume, consisting of three more episodes, is scheduled for release on December 25. The series finale will then be released on New Year’s Eve, December 31, at 8 p.m. Eastern Time.
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As the show concludes, the creators find themselves thinking about its beginning. Matt Duffer said that with the end nearing, he has been reminiscing most about the start of their journey. He often thinks about the “very first day of filming,” when the young cast gathered in the Wheeler basement to film the Dungeons & Dragons scene that introduced their characters. “Seeing their chemistry for the first time… watching these kids grow up. It’s been pretty magical. It is a once in a lifetime thing,” Duffer said.
Wolfhard has also shared his feelings about the show ending, describing a mix of satisfaction and sadness after filming his final scene. “I felt like I was in a dream or something. None of it felt real,” he said in an earlier interview. He noted that the entire main cast stayed on set for the last day of filming to support each other.
“I mean, I wouldn’t know anything without these guys. My life is spent with these people, and I learned about what I wanted to do in my life, and I got to experience it all with these people,” Wolfhard reflected during the Paley Center panel.
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