Jamie Campbell Bower, Caleb McLaughlin, Gaten Matarazzo, and Finn Wolfhard discuss their character arcs and the end of Stranger Things.
For the stars of Stranger Things, the series has been more than a job – it has been a coming-of-age experience. As the show reaches its final season, the young actors reflect on the immense personal and artistic growth that has taken place over nearly a decade. The final season is said to deliver a satisfying, “bittersweet” conclusion that the cast believes will tie up loose ends and answer many of the long-standing questions fans have been asking since the first season.
For the young actors, who spent their formative years on set, the process has been a fascinating convergence of their characters’ scripted lives and their own real-life adolescences, leading to profound artistic development.
During a recent press conference in which Mama’s Geeky was in attendance, Jamie Campbell Bower (Vecna), Caleb McLaughlin (Lucas Sinclair), Gaten Matarazzo (Dustin Henderson), and Finn Wolfhard (Mike Wheeler) discussed Stranger Things Season 5. The actors all spoke about how working on this show has shaped them both professionally and personally.
Jamie Campbell Bower On His Role As Vecna
For Jamie Campbell Bower, stepping into the role of the ultimate antagonist, Vecna, required an intense, career-defining commitment. Bower’s approach was deeply immersive and methodical, setting a new benchmark for his own creative process.
He described his experience, saying: “The artistic process that I went through for this show was arguably the most in-depth process I think I’ve ever done for any specific role.”
This depth went beyond mere preparation, becoming a total absorption into the character’s psyche, history, and motivations. He felt an enormous sense of responsibility not just to the character of Henry Creel/One/Vecna, but to the entire narrative arc of the show, a feeling he articulated clearly: “I just felt such a level of duty, I think, to this show.”
The Stranger Things Cast Cannot Deny How The Series Has Shaped Them Through Their Formative Years
For the younger members of the cast, the journey has been undoubtedly tied to their own development.
Caleb McLaughlin spoke poetically about the symbiotic relationship between his life and his character’s journey: “I’d say my artistic journey was the development of me in my adolescence. I think the scripts kind of wrote my life out in a way, which is interesting.” McLaughlin noted the unique experience of having his own teenage years mirrored and influenced by the narrative beats of Lucas Sinclair.
He found himself needing to consciously separate his own identity from his character to maintain artistic integrity: “But like Lucas kind of like merged with my personality in a way where I had to put Caleb to the side and then put Lucas in the forefront to understand who he was.” This constant negotiation between his reality and Lucas’s fiction showcases the maturity and focus required of a child actor on a long-running, demanding series.
Gaten Matarazzo, who plays fan favorite Dustin Henderson, spoke about the foundational impact the show and its team have had on his personality. He sees the project as having shaped the very core of who he is today, crediting the people involved for creating a uniquely supportive and stable environment.
“I think I would be an incredibly different person if I wasn’t a part of this. And I think that has to do with the people involved. It’s such a warm group,” Matarazzo stated. In a world of transient projects, the consistent presence of the Stranger Things family provided a crucial anchor during his most defining years. This sense of stability is what makes the conclusion so difficult for him. “But the consistency also has been what I’ve held onto the most. And that’s the hardest part about it. I think letting this go…,” he admitted, acknowledging the profound sense of loss that accompanies the end of a creative home that has lasted his entire adolescence.
Finn Wolfhard, whose character Mike Wheeler is arguably the emotional center of the core group, expressed a distinct joy in returning to the origins of his role. Having watched Mike mature, face trauma, and navigate complex relationships, Wolfhard found the return to the series’ roots deeply rewarding. “It was awesome to be able to sort of step back into that role and to be able to play this character after so many years, and kind of go back to his kind of roots as a kid,” he reflected.
He noted the emotional duality of the final installment, confirming a satisfying, yet wistful tone for the conclusion: “Yeah. I would say it’s like a bittersweet, you know, second half or latter half. And I think it answers a lot of questions that I think people have been asking about the show.” This promise of closure, even if tinged with sadness, is precisely what fans are hoping for.
The end of Stranger Things, as the cast explains, is the end of an era, marked by immense personal and creative evolution.
Stranger Things Season 5 Volume 1 (Episodes 1-4) is now streaming on Netflix.
NEXT: The Mighty Nein Interview: Critical Role & Showrunner Tasha Huo
Tessa Smith is a Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer-approved Film and TV Critic. On Camera personality and TV / Film Critic with 10+ years of experience in video editing, writing, editing, moderating, and hosting.