How old is eleven in season 4

As Stranger Things season 4 has aired almost three years since season 3, much of its young cast are rapidly aging out of their characters – so how old are the Stranger Things cast, and how different are their characters' ages from real life? Anytime a show deals with child or teenage characters, viewers know that said actors aging inconveniently fast may result in continuity problems. While Hollywood productions are usually tightly controlled, meticulously planned affairs, the natural aging of actors can't really be stopped or postponed. This leads to situations in which formerly scrawny, nerdy kids now look like football players, and short kids are suddenly 6'2". Such changes can already be observed in the Stranger Things season 4 cast.

The aging factor was already a problem that needed dealing with on the 2017/2019 duology of IT movie adaptations, as IT Chapter Two featured multiple flashback scenes of the Stephen King child group, the Losers' Club, which brought back the actors from the first IT. People can grow a lot in two years though, and de-aging techniques along with camera tricks were used to try and make the differences unnoticeable. This strategy didn't entirely succeed, but the effort was admirable.

IT and IT Chapter Two featured Finn Wolfhard as Richie Tozier, a role he landed not too long after breaking out as Mike Wheeler on Stranger Things. He noticeably grew during that two-year span, and with Stranger Things season 4 ending nearly three years after season 3, the show faces the same problem with Wolfhard and his castmates, as much less time has passed in Stranger Things' story. How old are the Stranger Things cast compared to their respective characters?

Finn Wolfhard: 19 Years Old

Finn Wolfhard, also known for playing Richie Tozier in the aforementioned IT movies, is 19 during Stranger Things season 4. Meanwhile, his character Mike Wheeler was 14 years old in season 3. Depending on when Mike's canonical birthday is, that'll put the character at about 15 to Wolfhard's 19, which is a significant gap that makes a huge difference in looks. In fact, the question of the Stranger Things cast's ages is often prompted by Mike looking significantly older than his supposed age.

Millie Bobby Brown: 18 Years Old

Millie Bobby Brown is 18 years old, and Eleven's missing powers in Stranger Things season 4 puts her through a flashback ordeal that actually allows Brown to appear much younger. Eleven is canonically 14 years old in season 3, the same age as Mike. In season 4, Brown is 18 to Eleven's 15 or so - a slightly lesser gap than Wolfhard's 19 to Mike's 15.

Gaten Matarazzo: 19 Years Old

Gaten Matarazzo plays fan-favorite Dustin in Stranger Things. Like Finn Wolfhard, Matarazzo is 19 during season 4. How old are the Stranger Things cast of characters? Dustin, like Mike and Eleven, is about 15. Since this is pretty much the case for all of Stranger Things' youngest group of cast members, it actually helps make each individual actor's visual difference less noticeable overall.

Caleb McLaughlin: 20 Years Old

Caleb McLaughlin, who plays Dustin's best friend Lucas on Stranger Things, is the oldest of the core four at 20 years old. As the original group faces off against the Stranger Things season 4 Vecna threat, Lucas is also 15, and he represents the largest age gap between character and actor in the quartet. For the most part, though, the smaller gaps between the four core characters and their actors work. This reflects a desire by Stranger Things creators, the Duffer Brothers, to not cast too far above their youngest roles, which has proven to be a smart decision.

Natalia Dyer: 27 Years Old

Natalia Dyer plays Mike's caring, resourceful, and surprisingly tough older sister Nancy Wheeler on Stranger Things, and is 27 years old during season 4. Meanwhile, Nancy is 18, meaning Dyer will be a whole nine years older than her character. While a significant age gap, this is much less noticeable as those of the younger cast, especially considering how teenagers are often convincingly played by people in their mid-30s.

Charlie Heaton: 28 Years Old

Charlie Heaton plays Jonathan, the brooding older brother of the Upside Down's first victim, Will Byers, and was a big part of the search for him during Stranger Things season 1. Heaton will be slightly older than his sometimes love interest Dyer, at 28 years old during season 4. Meanwhile, his character Jonathan is 18, putting an decade-long gap between actor and character, one of the biggest among the younger cast members. In Heaton's case though, he's always looked a bit older than his character, so it's not too jarring.

Noah Schnapp: 17 Years Old

Noah Schnapp plays Will Byers, friend to the core four and occasional inter-dimensional kidnapping victim. The youngest of the kids, Schnapp is 17 during Stranger Things season 4. Since Will should be about 14-15 like his friends, Schnapp will be closely in line with his character, again reflecting the wisdom of not casting the kids with older actors.

Sadie Sink: 20 Years Old

Fear Street star Sadie Sink, who recently earned praise for her work as outsider-turned-survivor Ziggy in the aforementioned horror trilogy, plays Max, younger sister of formerly awful - and formerly living - person Billy Hargrove. Although she does indeed look much younger, Sink is actually 20 years old in season 4, while Max is 15. Coincidentally, this is the same age gap as Max's love interest Lucas who is played by McLaughin, who are also respectively 20 and 15 years old.

Joe Keery: 30 Years Old

Joe Keery is probably the third-biggest breakout star of the Stranger Things cast after Millie Bobby Brown and Finn Wolfhard, playing a significant role in Ryan Reynolds' feel-good comedy adventure, Free Guy. Thanks to Steve Harrington becoming a decent, likable person during season 2, Keery's career has really taken off in recent years. If he had remained the huge jerk he was in most of season 1, things may have gone differently. In Stranger Things season 4 Part 2, Keery is also the oldest of the actors behind the teenage characters, as the actor is 30 years old while Steve Harrington is 19.

Maya Hawke: 24 Years Old

Maya Hawke, daughter of Ethan Hawke and another recent (fleeting) resident of Netflix's Fear Street, quickly became a fan-favorite as Steve's sarcastic but kind friend and co-worker Robin during Stranger Things season 3. In season 4, Hawke is 24 years old. This ends up putting a relatively slight age gap between Hawke and her character Robin's 17 or 18.

How Long After Season 3 Does Stranger Things Season 4 Take Place?

Within the show's timeline, just 185 days have passed since the end of Stranger Things season 3 and the beginning of season 4. Stranger Things season 3 wrapped up with the start of school in the fall of 1985, and season 4 is set at the start of spring break in 1986 - as evidenced by the many era-accurate Stranger Things season 4 Easter eggs. While plenty may have happened between Stranger Things seasons 3 and 4, it's only been six months - a much shorter time span than the almost 3 years that have passed in the real world.

How Millie Bobby Brown Played Young Eleven In Season 4's Flashbacks

Stranger Things season 4 sees Eleven recalling childhood memories of Dr. Martin Brenner's unethical genetic experiments, and apart from Millie Bobby Brown who plays Eleven's current 15-year-old self, flashback 9-year-old Eleven is played by 10-year-old actor Martie Blair. Notably, Brown wears a wig to simulate her head getting shaved so she can use the NINA facility to recall her past and get her powers back. This actually helps further blur the lines between Brown and Blair's combined portrayal of Eleven.

In Stranger Things media interviews, Brown recalls working together intently with Blair on the Hawkins Lab flashback scenes, which is reflected in how the younger Blair captures how Eleven would have moved and acted. Brown then spent three days doing all of Blair's scenes while her facial movements were being captured through a process called the Lola machine. To complete the illusion, the visual effects team used footage from Once Upon a Time in Wonderland, a movie in which Brown was about 9 years. The result is Brown and Blair's performance being digitally combined to convincingly bring 9-year-old Eleven to life. While effective, the illusion is expensive and tedious, so only Eleven was de-aged.

Next: Stranger Things Season 4: Every Confirmed Character Group & Location

Stranger Things season 4, part 2 streams Friday, July 1, 2022 on Netflix at 3AM EST.