Netflix's Stranger Things, created by Matt and Ross Duffer, takes place in the 1980s in suburban Hawkins, Indiana, and it features a handful of actors whose careers were launched during the same decade. The show which premiered on the streaming service on July 15, 2016, has become a cultural phenomenon. Stranger Things revisits the collective American psyche during a decade characterized by greed, excess, and the presidency of Ronald Reagan through the use of movies, books, music, locations, television shows, games, and performers who trigger memories of the bygone era.
Stranger Things manages to avoid being derivative even though it draws comparisons to an endless list of popular '80s movies (Poltergeist (1982), Stand by Me (1986), The Thing (1982), E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)) because the Duffers manage to create a mashup that combines the work of Steven Spielberg, Stephen King, Chris Columbus, Gary Gygax, Dave Arneson, Sam Raimi, and George Romero with singular results. Stranger Things covers plots and subplots involving evil scientists, supernatural phenomenons, the loss of innocence, government conspiracies, Cold War paranoia, rebelling against authority figures, and the decay of the American Dream. It blends all of these components with the bittersweetness of a good coming-of-age story.
Stranger Things invokes feelings of nostalgia not just because every detail — from soda cans to potato chip bags to fashion, hairstyles, and even the movie covers at the local video store — has been meticulously recreated, but also because the series features familiar guest stars whose names are forever tied to the decade. No matter what trajectory their career paths have taken, the inclusion of these actors pays homage to a time when they first made an indelible mark on the pop culture landscape.
Winona Ryder
Winona Ryder made her big-screen debut in 1986 in the film Lucas alongside Charlie Sheen and Corey Haim. From the depressed teen who sees dead people in Beetlejuice (1988) to a homicidal member of a powerful high school clique in Heathers (1989), throughout the '80s Ryder played characters who are outsiders looking in. Her waifish frame belies a toughness she brings to her roles. She remained popular throughout the '90s thanks to films like Reality Bites (1994) which cemented her as a Gen X icon.
Ryder plays Joyce Byers who is an outsider of sorts in Hawkins: a girl who used to be popular and run with bad boys, but who ended up a single mom stuck in a dead-end job to support her kids. Ryder continues to play cool girls who don't know they're cool. Joyce readily accepts weirdness, making her the only parent among the four boys who have any idea what is going on in her kids' lives. Ryder vacillates between fragility and tenacity effortlessly as Joyce moves from one battle to the next, emerging victorious but a bit more beaten down by the losses she incurs during each fight.
Paul Reiser
Paul Reiser is probably best known for his role as Paul Buchman on the popular series Mad About You, which ran for seven years in the '90s. Aside from his immense success on the small screen, Reiser appears in the Oscar-nominated films Diner (1982), Aliens (1986), and Beverly Hills Cop (1984). The choice to cast Reiser certainly isn't random given Aliens is another film that strikes a chord among Stranger Things fans, and Reiser, who portrays Burke in the sci-fi classic, isn't what he seems.
In Stranger Things, Reiser plays Dr. Sam Owens who is brought in during season 2 to try and clean up the mess made by his predecessor. Given his affinity for comedy, Reiser steps out of his comfort zone, making Owen affable but, thanks to the events in season 1, a bit suspect. The character appears to be an anomaly among all of the insidious government employees and their involvement in the Department of Energy's experiments. Like the show's heroes, Reiser is believable as a normal guy who finds himself at the epicenter of extraordinary circumstances.
Matthew Modine
Matthew Modine has a connection with Dustin's dream girl Phoebe Cates: the two co-starred in the 1983 teen sex comedy Private School about a couple trying to have sex for the first time. Modine's other big-screen credits include The Hotel New Hampshire (1984), Birdy (1984), Mrs. Soffel (1984), Married to the Mob (1988), and Vision Quest (1985). Modine's most prolific role in the '80s was as Pvt. Joker in Stanley Kubrick's Vietnam opus Full Metal Jacket (1987).
Modine's resume is a testament to his range as an actor. He's able to bring to life characters who are flawed, funny, and even tragic. As Dr. Martin Brenner on Stranger Things, Modine's performance is more one-dimensional than in previous projects, but in a series that draws a clear line between good and evil, there's no doubt as to what side Brenner is on. He lacks the complexity to render him sympathetic, but Modine makes certain Brenner doesn't come off as a caricature of a bad guy.
Cary Elwes
For Cary Elwes, it only took one great movie to catapult him into stardom in the '80s — The Princess Bride (1987). Rob Reiner's comedic fairytale features Elwes as Westley, a stable boy turned pirate in love with a beautiful woman named Buttercup. The movie features a cast of unforgettable characters and one-liners. Since it's release, the movie has gone on to be a cult classic and was inducted into the National Film registry. Elwes' good looks made him the perfect choice to play a dashing hero willing to die for true love.
The cultural impact of The Princess Bride makes Elwes a welcome addition to Stranger Things during season 3. As the mayor of Hawkins, Larry Kline, Elwes plays a more pedestrian type of villain compared to the darkness residing in his town. The fact that he's clueless about the destructive forces that have overtaken Hawkins reinforces his incompetence. Elwes brings a smugness and unapologetic sliminess to the character who hands over his town to Russians with an insidious agenda.
Sean Astin
Sean Astin made a name for himself in the '80s thanks to The Goonies (1985). Astin stars as eternal optimist Mikey, who along with his closest pals and his brother go in search of buried treasure in the hopes of saving their homes from foreclosure. Astin has perfected playing an underdog, appearing in Rudy (1993) and The Lord of the Rings trilogy as characters who are underestimated but prevail anyway.
On Stranger Things season 2, Astin plays Bob Newby, a mild-mannered guy who works at a Radio Shack. Fans rooting for a Joyce-Hopper pairing may find Bob to be an inferior replacement, but for a woman whose life is constantly falling apart, Bob represents stability. Bob goes from being disposable to indispensable thanks to his ability to remain upbeat in the face of adversity. There's an inherent earnestness to Astin that is evident in the characters he plays. There are undeniable parallels between Mikey and his friends and Mike, Dustin, Lucas, and Will. They are all outcasts who persevere despite the outrageous improbability of success. Astin's inherent likability makes Bob's grisly demise in Stranger Things season 2 that much more tragic.