Behind the scenes: Is there drama with the ‘Stranger Things’ cast?
Season 5 of Stranger Things premieres later this month, sparking curiosity about the cast's off-screen relationships. Though the cast grew up together, their daily interactions may not be as close as fans imagine.
Cast's communication dynamics
In 2023, Finn Wolfhard, who plays Mike Wheeler, explained to GQ that the cast does not text each other every day. He compared their relationship to family ties:
“Do you text your cousins every day? They’re our family. We’ll talk on each other’s birthdays. But in the same way that family works, if I ever needed anything, they’re there.”
Wolfhard, now 22, also humorously described Winona Ryder’s texting style:
“She’s one of the funniest texters ever, because she’ll text you and then you’ll text her back and then she won’t text you ever again.”
Winona Ryder's comments on cast members
Last year, Ryder raised some eyebrows by not mentioning Millie Bobby Brown when asked about her favorite Stranger Things co-stars. Instead, she said in an August 2024 Esquire interview:
“I love the boys and I love Sadie [Sink] and Maya [Hawke].”
Ryder also spoke about some younger cast members’ limited interest in movies:
“I don’t mean to sound so hopeless. There are a few that are just not interested in movies. Like, the first thing they say is, ‘How long is it?’”
This comment led some fans to speculate she was referring to Brown, who had previously shared with the U.S. Sun her difficulty in watching full films.
Summary
The cast of Stranger Things maintains a family-like bond with less frequent daily communication, and there have been subtle tensions or differences in perspectives among the actors revealed through interviews.