Finn Wolfhard: the actor who plays Mike Wheeler, from Stranger Things to It
Actors · Finn Wolfhard · Mike Wheeler
Finn Wolfhard is twelve when he becomes Mike Wheeler, the dungeon master of the basement. He then shot It, two Ghostbusters, released two albums and directed a film, while coming back to Hawkins every season. Portrait of the busiest actor in the group.
The essentials
- Born: December 23, 2002, Vancouver, Canada
- Role: Mike Wheeler, seasons 1 to 5
- On film: It (Richie Tozier), Ghostbusters: Afterlife and Frozen Empire
- Music: Calpurnia, then The Aubreys
Contents
Finn Wolfhard, a Vancouver kid cast over the internet
Finn Wolfhard grows up in Vancouver, where he shoots small roles in The 100 and Supernatural. He lands Mike Wheeler in 2015 on a tape sent by video, with no agent in Los Angeles: the Duffers like his fast delivery and his ability to run a D&D table. At thirteen, he is the leader of the group.
Mike is the most "normal" character in the group: no powers, no cap, no slingshot. Finn Wolfhard plays him as a worried leader, in love with Eleven from the first look, and more and more outpaced by her as the seasons go on.
The group's T-shirt, Wheeler-basement style.
In the shopMen's 3/4-sleeve baseball Mike Wheeler T-shirt44,90 €See the product
Richie Tozier and horror cinema
In 2017, a few months after season 1, he plays Richie Tozier, the kid with glasses and a big mouth, in It, the Stephen King adaptation that becomes the highest-grossing horror film in history. He takes the role up again in 2019 in It Chapter 2. Two years later, he is Trevor, Egon Spengler's grandson, in Ghostbusters: Afterlife, then in Frozen Empire (2024).
Those roles make him, with Millie Bobby Brown, the member of the cast most present in cinema during the show.
| Year | Film | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | It | Richie Tozier |
| 2019 | It: Chapter 2 | Young Richie Tozier |
| 2019 | The Goldfinch | Boris |
| 2021 | Ghostbusters: Afterlife | Trevor Spengler |
| 2024 | Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire | Trevor Spengler |
| 2023 | Hell of a Summer | Co-director, co-writer, and actor |
Calpurnia, The Aubreys, and directing
Guitarist and singer, Finn Wolfhard founds the band Calpurnia in 2017, which releases an EP and tours before splitting in 2019. He follows with The Aubreys, a duo with Malcolm Craig, then publishes a solo album in 2025. He has also directed clips, and co-directed with Billy Bryk a comic horror film, Hell of a Summer, presented at the Toronto festival in 2023.
At twenty-three, he juggles three activities, which explains why he was, during the long pauses between seasons, the most visible of the party outside Hawkins.
Markers
| Year | Step |
|---|---|
| 2002 | Birth in Vancouver |
| 2014 | First TV roles: The 100, Supernatural |
| 2015 | Mike's casting on a video audition |
| 2017 | Season 2; Richie in It; founding of Calpurnia |
| 2019 | It: Chapter 2; The Goldfinch |
| 2021 | Ghostbusters: Afterlife |
| 2023 | Hell of a Summer, his first film as a director |
| 2025 | Solo album; end of the show |
Between each season, he therefore filmed, recorded, or directed something. Fans who only see him as Mike Wheeler often discover with surprise the extent of that parallel path.
Mike Wheeler through to the end
The character has known the fans' criticism, who blamed him, in Season 4, for not knowing how to tell Eleven he loves her. Finn Wolfhard defended that clumsiness as the character's very subject: a boy who grew up too fast without the instruction manual. Season 5 gives him the chance to finish the story he had started in a basement, in 1983.
The Mike figure, walkie in hand.
In the shopLego Mike Wheeler mini figure14,90 €See the product
The roles you do not see: his voices
Part of Finn Wolfhard's career happens behind a mic. In 2019, he is "Player," the heroine's sidekick, in the animated series Carmen Sandiego, and voices Pugsley in The Addams Family in animation. He has also dubbed adult animated series, including Smiling Friends. Those roles let him work during the show's long breaks without leaving Vancouver.
His first roles were already discreet: Zoran in season 2 of The 100 in 2014, Jordie in an episode of Supernatural in 2015, and a video for a Vancouver band in 2012. He auditioned for Mike on video, after seeing an open call.
It and Hawkins: the 80s coincidence
The fact that he is in both the show and It, two works set in the 80s with a group of kids facing a monster, is a coincidence. He had first been chosen as Richie when Cary Fukunaga was going to direct the film; the director's departure dropped the project, which left him time to get Mike. When Andy Muschietti took It back, he had to audition again.
Chance also put him in The Goldfinch in 2019, where director John Crowley wanted a Russian actor for Boris; his near-perfect accent at the audition got him the role. And he directed his first short film, Night Shifts, at seventeen, before Hell of a Summer.
Mike in 1987: the leader who became leader again
Matt Duffer had announced that the last season would see Mike "become the leader again," in a more mature and more sure version than the one from 1983. That is what the season shows: Mike who insists on continuing the crawls when the others believe Vecna is dead, Mike who takes his sister's imaginary friend seriously, Mike who apologizes to Will on the radio tower.
The epilogue gives him the last word of the show. He is the one who formulates the theory of Kali's illusion, the one who predicts each person's future around the table, and the one who closes the door on Holly's new game. Finn Wolfhard had feared a Game of Thrones-style reception; at the table read, he knew the finale was “something special.”
Five Mike scenes to rewatch
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“Promise”, 1983
Mike explains to Eleven what a promise is. The word comes back through the last episode.
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The 353 days, 1984
Every evening, Mike calls Eleven on the walkie-talkie. She listens without answering.
-
The pizzeria, 1986
Finally, “I love you,” while Eleven faces Vecna in Max's mind.
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L'antenne, 1987
Mike apologizes to Will for ignoring what he was going through.
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The gate, 1989
The last shot of the show: Mike watches Holly start her campaign, and closes.
The 011 keychain, Mike's favorite.
In the shopMike Wheeler hoodie59,90 €See the product
TakeawayBorn in 2002 in Vancouver, cast on video at twelve. Mike Wheeler in all five seasons, leader of the party. Richie in It, Trevor in Ghostbusters. Musician (Calpurnia, The Aubreys) and co-director of Hell of a Summer.
Frequently asked questions
Who plays Mike Wheeler?
Finn Wolfhard, Canadian actor and musician born in 2002 in Vancouver, across the five seasons.
Does Finn Wolfhard act in It?
Yes, he is Richie Tozier in It (2017) and It Chapter 2 (2019).
What is Finn Wolfhard's band?
Calpurnia (2017-2019), then The Aubreys. He released a solo album in 2025.
Has Finn Wolfhard directed a film?
Yes, Hell of a Summer (2023), co-directed with Billy Bryk, a horror comedy at a summer camp.
Does Finn Wolfhard do cartoon voices?
Yes: Player in Carmen Sandiego, Pugsley in The Addams Family in animation, and adult animated series like Smiling Friends.
Why did Finn Wolfhard have to reaudition for It?
Because the film had changed director: chosen for Richie under Cary Fukunaga, he had to convince Andy Muschietti again after getting Mike in the meantime.
Does Finn Wolfhard have an actor brother?
Yes, his older brother Nick Wolfhard is an actor, mainly in voice work.