Finn Wolfhard's Real Name: Finn Wolfhard

Quick answer: Finn Wolfhard is publicly known by his own name, Finn Wolfhard. He was born on December 23, 2002, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. He played Mike Wheeler on Netflix's Stranger Things and Richie Tozier in It. In 2025 he co-directed his first feature, Hell of a Summer, and released a debut solo album (Library of Congress; NME).

Real name and early life

The Library of Congress name authority files him as "Wolfhard, Finn, 2002-." Its citation reads "Finn Wolfhard, actor; b. December 23, 2002 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada." Another LOC note says he has been active in film and television since about 2013. Reliable sources used here do not confirm a middle name, so this page treats Finn Wolfhard as his full public name.

In a 2025 NME interview, Wolfhard said the Beatles were "the whole reason I got into music, and acting too." He said their films A Hard Day's Night and Help! showed him "you can make music and be funny and be in movies." He told NME he never went to summer camp as a child because of separation anxiety, an experience he later drew on for his directing debut.

Career highlights

Wolfhard was 13 when Stranger Things became a hit in 2016. He played Mike Wheeler, one of a group of teenagers fighting supernatural forces in Hawkins, Indiana. NME says he was filming It, the first part of the Stephen King adaptation, when strangers began recognizing him. He went on to star in Ghostbusters: Afterlife, directed by Jason Reitman, who later read drafts of his first script. He has also toured with the indie bands Calpurnia and The Aubreys.

Speaking to Deadline at Sundance in January 2025, he called leaving Stranger Things "a very emotional thing." He said production on the fifth and final season had wrapped the previous December after 11 months. At the same festival he promoted the A24 fantasy The Legend of Ochi, in which he plays Petro, a young hunter trained by a father played by Willem Dafoe.

Hell of a Summer, a summer-camp slasher comedy that he co-wrote, co-directed with Billy Bryk, and starred in, was released by Neon in April 2025. He told Deadline, "I think I'm deeply curious about filmmaking and really would like to keep directing." NME reported that his debut solo album, Happy Birthday, was due in June 2025 with a U.S. tour.

Name notes for searchers

Wolfhard is his family surname, not a stage name. Fans sometimes search for a longer birth name, but no authoritative record cited here gives one. Mike Wheeler is his Stranger Things character, not his name.