If the youngest Wheeler sibling looks different and more central to the story in Stranger Things 5, you are not seeing things. The role of Holly Wheeler has been recast with actress Nell Fisher, who steps into a much larger storyline for the show’s final season. Fisher is a young actress with a few notable roles that might explain why her face seems familiar.
Nell Fisher is a 14-year-old British-New Zealand actress. She was born in London on November 2, 2011, and had an international upbringing, living in South Africa, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom during her childhood. For the show’s creators, bringing Holly to the forefront was a key part of returning to the series’ roots.
Executive producer Shawn Levy explained the decision, saying, “Centering Holly not only gives us a new character to explore and root for, but is also very thematic because, in many ways, this show has always been about childhood, about the vulnerability of innocence, but also the superpower of innocence”.
The character was previously played by twin sisters Anniston and Tinsley Price when Holly was a toddler in the show’s first four seasons. Fisher shared that she actually met the Price twins, and the three of them spent time together at a trampoline park talking about the character.
Before arriving in Hawkins, Nell Fisher built her career with roles in film and television, most notably in a major horror movie.
Her breakout role was in the 2023 horror film Evil Dead Rise. Fisher played Kassie, the youngest of three children trapped in a Los Angeles apartment building with their mother, who becomes possessed by a deadly demon. The film’s director, Lee Cronin, had Fisher use fake blood and vomit before filming to ensure she was comfortable with the horror elements.
In 2024, she starred opposite Elijah Wood in the adventure comedy Bookworm. She played Mildred, a 12-year-old girl who goes on a quest with her estranged magician father to find a mythical creature. The film premiered at the Fantasia International Film Festival.
Her other credits include:
In Stranger Things 5, Holly transitions from a background character to a central protagonist. The season’s second episode is titled “The Vanishing of Holly Wheeler,” a direct callback to the series’ first episode, “The Vanishing of Will Byers,” signaling her importance.
The storyline finds Holly feeling out of place at school and coping by relying on an imaginary friend she calls “Mr. Whatsit”. This friend is later revealed to be Henry Creel, the human form of the villain Vecna (played by Jamie Campbell Bower), who is trying to connect with her. Early in the season, Holly is kidnapped by a Demogorgon and taken to the Upside Down. There, she is trapped in a “prison of memories” created by Vecna, where she meets Max Mayfield (Sadie Sink), who is also trapped in Vecna’s mind.
Fisher shared that the classic novel A Wrinkle in Time was a big part of her preparation for the role, as Holly uses the story to understand her supernatural predicament.
“Holly uses A Wrinkle in Time to understand what’s happening to her and to orient herself in this new crazy world. Henry is Mr. Whatsit, Henry’s mind prison is Camazotz, and Vecna is IT,” Fisher said.
Joining the established cast of Stranger Things was an exciting experience for Fisher. She received guidance from co-star Finn Wolfhard, who plays her on-screen brother Mike, on how to handle the attention that comes with being on such a popular show. She also recalled a positive moment where Millie Bobby Brown (Eleven) pulled the younger cast members aside during a difficult filming day to choreograph a dance together to lighten the mood.
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Fisher filmed several demanding scenes, including an underwater sequence and the intense Demogorgon attack in the Wheeler home, which she filmed with actress Cara Buono, who plays her mother, Karen Wheeler.
The first part of Stranger Things Season 5, consisting of four episodes, premiered on November 26, 2025. The story continues with three more episodes released on Christmas Day, December 25, and the series finale arriving on New Year’s Eve, December 31.
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