Child actors' growth spurts can complicate filming. Take Netflix's hit show "Stranger Things": when the show started filming in 2015, its main stars Millie Bobby Brown, Finn Wolfhard, Caleb McLaughlin, Gaten Matarazzo, and Noah Scnapp were all around the ages of their 12-year-old characters. But since then, more time has passed in real life than on the show.
In 2022, the main cast are all pushing 20, while their season four characters are still 15. However, using movie magic, the costume designers behind the show have managed to age the cast down a bit for the cameras. If you're wondering how old the cast members of "Stranger Things" are in real life, check out the in-depth breakdown ahead.
Brown, who is 18, is three years older than her 15-year-old character, Eleven.
Nineteen-year-old Wolfhard plays 15-year-old Mike Wheeler in "Stranger Things."
At 20, McLaughlin still perfectly captures his 15-year-old character, Lucas.
While Matarazzo is 19, Dustin is 15 years old in season four.
Seventeen-year-old Schnapp plays 15-year-old Will in "Stranger Things."
Heaton, who is 28, plays 18-year-old Jonathan Byers in "Stranger Things" season four.
At 27, Dyer plays 18-year-old Nancy Wheeler.
Keery and his character have the biggest age difference. At 30, he's 11 years older than his 19-year-old "Stranger Things" character, who just graduated from high school.
At 20, Sink still manages to capture Max perfectly, despite their five-year age difference (Max is 15).
While Hawke is 23 in real life, her character is 18 years old in "Stranger Things" season four.
Ferguson is 15, but her character — Lucas's little sister — is 11 in "Stranger Things" season four.