Stranger Things star Finn Wolfhard shed light on the less glamorous side of being a child star as he revealed he’s been stalked by adult fans in the past.
The 17-year-old, who stars as Mike Wheeler in the hit Netflix show, has spent much of his time on screen battling creepy monsters and horrific clowns, but evidently his real life experiences are much scarier.
Wolfhard noticed fully-grown adults set their sights on him after the premiere of Stranger Things in 2016, despite the fact he was only 13 years old when the show aired.
His character was even younger, aged just 12, but that didn’t stop grown ups from trying to hunt Wolfhard down.
The actor, who also starred in the 2017 horror film It, recalled a number of scary incidents during an interview with Mastermind Magazine, as per Entertainment Weekly, explaining he got stalked when he was walking alone.
Wolfhard said:
When I was 13, some adults followed me back to my condo when I was shooting It.
Stranger Things had just come out, and I was by myself. As I walked faster, they walked faster, and I was getting a bit antsy by the time I got to the door.
The teen recalled that as he approached the door of his house, the adults called out to ask whether they could get a selfie with him.
Wolfhard was understandably angry at having been followed and refused, replying:
No you can’t have a selfie! How about don’t follow children?
In another incident, the young actor noticed his taxi being followed by a desperate fan. The unnamed person continued to follow Wolfhard once out of the taxi, and Wolfhard told Mastermind they ‘continued to be pretty relentless’.
Over-the-top fans continue to be an issue for Wolfhard outside the world of acting, as he has also noticed people getting rowdy at his music events. The Stranger Things star plays in the band The Aubreys, and has found a fan in his fellow Vancouver native and friend Ryan Reynolds.
Wolfhard explained:
I’ve had to stop shows because people were getting crushed, and Ryan Reynolds almost got injured in Brazil when he went to the barricade. It was lucky that the hundred people who fell over it weren’t hurt.
Obviously, stalking celebrities is creepy no matter how old they are, but it’s even more disturbing when it’s adults following children.
Celebrities aren’t public property – their space and privacy should be respected in the same way as everyone else’s.
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Emily Brown first began delivering important news stories aged just 13, when she launched her career with a paper round. She graduated with a BA Hons in English Language in the Media from Lancaster University, and went on to become a freelance writer and blogger. Emily contributed to The Sunday Times Travel Magazine and Student Problems before becoming a journalist at UNILAD, where she works on breaking news as well as longer form features.