Finn Wolfhard used his Saturday Night Live hosting debut to poke fun at the fact that he and his co-stars are still often viewed as “the kids from Stranger Things”, despite now being fully grown.
The 23-year-old actor took to the stage for the opening monologue of Saturday Night Live this weekend, where he joked about outgrowing his child-star image.
Declaring confidently that he is “not a kid anymore”, Wolfhard was quickly interrupted by surprise appearances from his Stranger Things co-stars Caleb McLaughlin, 24, and Gaten Matarazzo, 23, who entered the stage to loud cheers from the audience.
Caleb said: “Neither are we! We’re not child stars, we’re former child stars.”
Gaten followed up with a tongue-in-cheek jab at the reputation that label often carries, adding: “And any time you read ‘former child star’ in a headline, it can only mean good things.”
The trio went on to reflect on the unique experience of growing up in the public eye after finding global fame as pre-teens on the hit Netflix series. The actors also addressed the less comfortable side of that attention.
Caleb sarcastically thanked fans who watched them mature on screen and then, as he put it, “went online and commented about our changing faces and bodies."
The sketch highlighted a shared experience for the cast, who were thrust into international stardom at a young age and have since navigated the awkward transition from child actors to adult performers under intense scrutiny.
As the monologue drew to a close, Wolfhard struck a more sincere tone, acknowledging the bond between the three actors after nearly a decade of working together. Addressing his co-stars directly, he said: “Although we’re now men, you’ll always be my boys.”
