YOUNG MAN WITH A PLAN
Teen star won’t let sudden fame go to his head
Stranger Things and It star Finn Wolfhard is well aware that the pitfalls are plentiful for a young actor.
After all, the stories of teen stars getting tripped up by the trappings of fame are as plentiful as Friends reruns.
The 14-year-old Vancouver kid, though, has a pretty solid plan when it comes to avoiding joining that particular Hollywood club.
“I really just think it is about remembering who you are and not to go crazy with it and fall for all the superficial stuff,” said Wolfhard, who still goes to school in Vancouver.
“I think that if you are worried about how many Instagram followers you have, and how much money you are going to get on your next job, then you’ve got to re-evaluate your career because that’s not what acting is about.
“I think being as self aware as possible is really where you need to be.”
You also need to be at the right place at the right time, as Wolfhard is quick to point out when asked about the stratospheric course his career has taken in the last couple of years.
“I got super lucky with everything,” he said on the phone from Los Angeles recently. “It was just a massive coincidence that I got two big things back to back. Honestly, it was a fluke. This may sound like a super dumb answer and easy, but if a script is good and I like it then I’ll audition for it and try to do it. I just do it based on the script.”
While Stephen King wrote It and that work inspired the creation of Stranger Things, in both works Wolfhard plays two very different characters. In Netflix series Stranger Things, his Mike is sweet and thoughtful and a really good guy. In movie It, Wolfhard’s Richie is foul-mouthed and sex-obsessed.
“I love playing both. But being an actor on It and having so much creative freedom to the point where you were basically writing your own character is incredible. We all had that on It. We got to build our own characters,” said Wolfhard.
“We got to put our own flavours to it.”
Wolfhard said that with Stranger Things, creators and brothers Matt and Ross Duffer grew the characters as they got to know the kids themselves.
“I think having a variety of different characters is great,” said Wolfhard. “You don’t want to be the same guy all the time.”
And you don’t want to do the same kinds of projects all the time. Typecasting is another one of those pitfalls that young actors need to keep an eye out for. Being a catchphrase kid seems to only increase one’s chances of career suicide.
“It depends on what comes through,” said Wolfhard, about the scripts he sees. “Maybe I’ll take a break from the sci-fi horror genre for, like, a second and do a drama, or whatever.”
That plan seems to be already in motion as Wolfhard has been spending time in Los Angeles, recently shooting the new comedy feature Dog Days from director Ken Marino.
Other future top-tier Wolfhard credits include being the voice of Player for Netflix’s re-boot of the animated education series Carmen Sandiego. That is slated for a 2019 release.
We know It will have a sequel (it says so at the end of the movie). Wolfhard is pretty confident that he will be brought back into the fold for that film, despite the plan to flash forward to when the kids are all grown up. But the big news right now is the return of Stranger Things on Oct. 27.
The publicity machine for Season 2 has been working hard. There’s been a new game created — Wolfhard said that during the filming of Season 2 he and some of his Stranger Things castmates had a crack at playing the prototype, and they all thought it was “super cool.”
Episode titles have been released and the official trailer has been viewed over 10 million times. Wolfhard, of course, will not be the guy who delivers the spoiler.
“It picks up in 1984,” said Wolfhard. “All the characters have been as normal as they can, but they really can’t go back to the way they were a year ago because of all that crazy stuff. So we are all trying to figure out what is wrong with Will.”
He’s also suitably vague when asked about the possibility of a third season.
“No one at Netflix has given the go ahead publicly, but we’ve all talked about it,” said Wolfhard, who will be joining his castmates for the season premiere red-carpet shindig in Los Angeles before jetting off to Paris for more press.
Netflix doesn’t do ratings, but if word of mouth is any indication, the show was an instant hit when it became available in July 2016. People around the globe suddenly were talking about the Upside Down and asking: What about Barb?
Stranger Things, about the disappearance of a boy, is not easy to characterize. It straddles the worlds of fantasy, sci-fi, horror, drama and even comedy; a large genre net that has gone a long way to making the series a talked-about event. It’s accessible.
“I think it just has so much for so many people. It has so many layers. There are different genres (within it). There is a variety of different stuff for everyone. That’s special, you don’t get that a lot,” said Wolfhard. “I think it is an interesting story in general. The story appealed to me right away when I read the script. Having the mystery and the sci-fi and the Eighties in the mix is really cool.”
Speaking of the ’80s, Wolfhard plays rhythm guitar and sings in the band Calpurnia, and is a “big fan” of the music from that decade.
“I love Joy Division and New Order and The Cure, that kind of stuff,” said Wolfhard. “Eighties new wave is so good.”
So is a good old-fashioned scare like the kind the clown Pennywise from It is so deftly able to provide. If you didn’t see the old 1990 TV miniseries or the new feature film you should know that Pennywise is easily the creepiest pretend clown ever.
“The first time we saw him was the first day we had to shoot with him,” said Wolfhard about the demented clown played by Bill Skarsgard in the movie.
“We didn’t really see him at all. They kind of kept him away from us until he had to shoot with us and that was definitely a good idea.”
Despite Stranger Things promotions, Wolfhard still has to be a kid, and that means schoolwork. When he is on set he gets a tutor but otherwise he is responsible for hitting the books himself.
“You get used to it over time, you have to make time,” said Wolfhard about keeping up with his studies. “I’m not very good in math — I get it, but it is kind of hard for me — but I get straight A’s in English and socials and stuff. Yeah, I’m not the best with the numbers.”
But it turns out he is pretty good with adding good gigs to his resume.
I’m not very good in math — I get it but it is kind of hard for me — but I get straight A’s in English and socials and stuff.