Finn Wolfhard has opened up about the emotional toll of Stranger Things ending after a decade, describing the experience as 'depressing' and admitting he felt 'really lost' once the cameras stopped rolling. The 23-year-old Canadian actor, who played Mike Wheeler in the Netflix sci-fi drama, said the conclusion of the series forced him to confront his identity without the show that had defined his life since childhood.
Struggling with Withdrawal and Identity
In an interview with The Guardian, Wolfhard explained that while he feels liberated to pursue other projects, the immediate aftermath was difficult. 'At first I felt really lost, because that's your life for so long and so many of the crew and cast were so integral to the person that you are and to your identity,' he said. 'You almost have a kind of withdrawal for a little while. Then you realise all those relationships, all those friendships, they're around forever.'
Wolfhard noted that the cast and crew knew the fifth series would be the last, but it still took time to process. 'Every year it was like, OK, I know I'm going to be in Atlanta filming this thing with the same people for the next however long. It was like my school in a really odd way. Everyone was having a great time, hanging out … All the cast lived in the same neighbourhood. We would go to each other's houses all the time.'
The Final Season's Emotional Realisation
The vibe during the last season shifted from denial to appreciation. 'The vibe [during the last season] was almost like, 'Oh, we'll be back next year', but once we got about halfway through, everyone started to realise like, 'Oh, this is it.' And then everyone just really valued the time we all had together for that last half,' Wolfhard said. He added that although the ending was 'pretty depressing for everyone', it 'feels absolutely right that we've ended at the time that we did.'
Past Struggles with Fame and Anxiety
Wolfhard has previously spoken about the challenges of sudden fame. In an interview with People magazine, he admitted that if he could go back, he would 'put myself into therapy' right when the show first exploded. 'But it was so crazy and overnight, that there was not really any time to think about that,' he said. He also revealed he suffered from panic attacks and anxiety from around age 15, but didn't seek help due to his 'whirlwind career'. 'Everyone was like, 'Look at him, he's fine. He's having the best time.' But in reality, I was probably also developing and things were happening in my brain and anxieties were forming and things that I didn't realize that I had to bury because of how I had to feel at work.'
