After a whopping three-year hiatus, Stranger Things has returned to Netflix with (most of) season 4. The talented cast has been busy with other projects during the significant break and it’s exciting to see the wide variety of movies and TV shows they've starred in.
From Millie Bobby Brown’s venture into the spy drama genre with Enola Holmes to Joe Keery’s appearance in the science fiction Free Guy, it’s worth finding out what the actors were up to during the gap. Since Stranger Things 4 only runs for seven episodes — with two more dropping July 1 — fans can watch their other works while waiting for the rest of the season.
Winona Ryder
The Cow, The Plot Against America, & Sarah Cooper: Everything's Fine
Winona Ryder has slowed down on her movie career ever since starring in Stranger Things, but the three-year gap allowed her to return to the big screen with The Cow. The thriller centers on Kath (Ryder), a woman searching for her boyfriend after he goes missing during a stay at a remote cabin.
Ryder also starred in the miniseries The Plot Against America, which looks into a revisionist history where the leader of the United States is a xenophobic and fascist personality whose impact is felt by Ryder’s character. Additionally, Ryder showed up in a sketch in Sarah Cooper’s comedy special Everything’s Fine.
David Harbour
Extraction, No Sudden Move, Black Widow, & Q-Force
David Harbour made his MCU debut playing Red Guardian, the father of the titular protagonist and also one of the best characters in Black Widow. Earlier, he appeared in the action-thriller Extraction as the traitorous Gaspar who attempts to sell out the protagonist for a bounty sum.
Harbour was part of the ensemble cast of No Sudden Move, appearing as a hapless accountant who’s blackmailed by the lead gangster pair played by Don Cheadle and Benecio del Toro. On TV, Harbour appeared in Q-Force, voicing the role of Agent Rick Buck, the only straight person on a team of LGBTQ+ superspies.
Finn Wolfhard
The Turning, Omniboat: A Fast Boat Fantasia, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, When You Finish Saving The World, & Carmen Sandiego
Finn Wolfhard is considered among the best Gen Z actors, and his prolific acting credits attest to that. During Stranger Things’ hiatus, he appeared in the horror The Turning, playing a teenager who’s part of a sibling pair in a haunted estate a young governess is tasked to oversee. Wolfhard also had a role in Omniboat: A Fast Boat Fantasia, where he’s one of the people the speedboat comes across during its lifetime.
The young actor's most high-profile release was Ghostbusters: Afterlife, where he joined the next generation of characters facing off against the classic ghost villains. In the comedy-drama When You Finish Saving the World, Wolfhard played a talented folk-rock singer. He had a supporting voice role in the Carmen Sandiego action-adventure animated series, playing a hacker.
Caleb McLaughlin
Concrete Cowboy, The Boys Presents: Diabolical, & Summer Camp Island
Caleb McLaughlin had a starring film role alongside Idris Elba in Concrete Cowboy, which is about a teenager who’s sent to live with his estranged father and becomes involved with the latter’s cowboy culture.
McLaughlin also continued to voice the role of Ghost in Summer Camp Island, a supporting part in an animated series about a magical summer camp. The actor had a one-shot voice role in The Boys Presents: Diabolical, an anthology series set in the superhero universe.
Gaten Matarazzo
Prank Encounters
Gaten Matarazzo hasn’t been too busy during the three-year gap and has largely focused his attention on hosting duties. Prank Encounters places two unsuspecting people in a scenario where they have to team up against horror-themed pranks.
Matarazzo pulls the strings from behind the scenes to elicit the desired scares until the prank is revealed. The actor is also an executive producer for the series and will continue in the role for the foreseeable future.
Noah Schnapp
Waiting For Anya & Hubie Halloween
Noah Schnapp had a starring role in the historical drama Waiting for Anya, which sees his young shepherd character helping to smuggle Jewish children across the French border into Spain during WWII. Although the film received mixed reviews, his performance was praised.
Schnapp then had a supporting role in Adam Sandler’s Hubie Halloween, playing the son of the lead character’s love interest. The film is full of Sandler's signature charming yet juvenile humor, and Schnapp holds his own opposite the A-lister.
Sadie Sink
Fear Street Part Two 1978, & Fear Street Part Three: 1666, & All Too Well: The Short Film
Sadie Sink stuck with her Stranger Things horror roots, playing Ziggy Berman, the lead role in Netflix's Fear Street Part Two: 1978. The story centers around Ziggy and her friends as they look to survive a killing spree at the camp they’re staying in.
Sink reprised the role as part of flashbacks in the follow-up, before garnering significant attention for All Too Well: The Short Film. She appeared as the younger version of Taylor Swift in a reenactment of the singer’s past.
Natalia Dyer
Tuscaloosa, United States vs. Reality Winner, The Nearest Human Being, & Things Heard & Seen
Natalia Dyer was part of the cast of Things Heard & Seen, playing Willis Howell, the mistress of the protagonist's husband. Earlier, Dyer voiced Reality Winner in the documentary about the latter’s leak of files about the Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections.
Not long after Stranger Things 3’s release, the actress was seen in Tuscaloosa, playing an institutionalized young woman whose boyfriend contemplates breaking her out. The Nearest Human Being is about a woman who tries new things after ditching her unmotivated boyfriend.
Charlie Heaton
No Future, The New Mutants, Soulmates, & The Souvenir Part II
Charlie Heaton’s first credit since Stranger Things 3 was No Future, where he appeared alongside Catherine Keener. The story focused on the affair between the lead pair when they’re brought close by the death of someone they both loved.
Heaton then had a supporting role as a one-time fling of the main character in The Souvenir Part II. The actor appeared in an episode of the science fiction anthology Soulmates, which is about characters using technology to find their soulmate.
Joe Keery
Spree, Death to 2020, Death to 2021, & Free Guy
Steve has had many iconic scenes in Stranger Things, and Joe Keery followed up the goodwill from the role in other movies. Death to 2020 and 2021 are mockumentaries about the reaction of people around the world to U.S. news reports about the COVID-19 pandemic.
Keery was the lead in the comedy-horror Spree, where his character went on a killing spree to try and become a viral star. Free Guy is Keery’s highest-profile film role to date, in which he pays game designer Keys whose technology was stolen by a gaming developer.
Millie Bobby Brown
Enola Holmes & Godzilla Vs. Kong
Millie Bobby Brown is easily the biggest star to come out of Stranger Things and has been seen in notable work outside of the series during the hiatus. The actress played the titular character in Enola Holmes, appearing as Sherlock Holmes’ sister in search of their mother.
She reprised her role as Madison Russell in the monster film Godzilla vs. Kong, playing a Godzilla supporter of Godzilla who advocated for the creature’s benevolence. Brown will be seen in the sequel to Enola Holmes, set for release later this year.