A 'Stranger Things' Star Has Wild Plans

The young actor is never going back to the juggernaut that made him famous: 'Stranger Things.' But he's walking away perfectly equipped for a campaign through Hollywood in its upside-down era.

View in Browser  Thursday, January 01, 2026 Can you believe it? After years of hype, Stranger Things is finally—officially!—over. The series finale debuted on Netflix last night, putting a tentacled bow on the story of Hawkins, Indiana. After interviewing several of the show's stars leading up to the series-ender, we chose the leader of the Dungeons & Dragons gang for our final farewell: Finn Wolfhard, who plays Mike Wheeler in the show. "There's a lot of sadness that comes along with it because it was in our lives for so long," Wolfhard told Esquire's Josh Rosenberg. "It's like our school, our childhood." Join Wolfhard in saying goodbye to Stranger Things below.   —Brady Langmann, senior entertainment editor Plus: The best New Year's deals to kick off your 2026 The 20 best movies to ring in the New Year The definitive guide to men's suits Finn Wolfhard Finally Left Hawkins, Indiana. What Now? The young actor is never going back to the juggernaut that made him famous: Stranger Things. But he's walking away perfectly equipped for a campaign through Hollywood in its upside-down era. "No one can prepare anyone for it," Wolfhard, twenty-three, tells me about becoming a child star in the streaming age. "It was incredibly exciting, and it still is, but there was a period in my teenage years where it was just hard. I wanted the people in my life to just be chill."   When we meet in early December, Wolfhard is wrapping up a photo shoot at the Esquire office in New York City, where he donned a knight's helmet—a nod to Mike Wheeler's Dungeons & Dragons class in Stranger Things. It's been a crazy day. He's in his seventh time zone in under a month as he promotes the fifth and final season of Stranger Things across the globe. It's dizzying just to think about, but he's traveled from London to Italy to Los Angeles, back to London, Berlin, Japan, and now New York in roughly thirty days. The night before we talk, he performed his song "Trailers after dark" live on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and tried his best not to spoil anything that happens in the Stranger Things finale, which debuted on Netflix just before the Times Square Ball dropped. The culminating episode of the Netflix series has a lot of ground to cover, as the kids of Hawkins, Indiana, gear up for the final fight against the powerful villain, Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower). There's little for Wolfhard to say about the end until everyone's seen it. For now, he's incredibly proud of the work they've done, and he's excited to witness this lifelong project reach its conclusion. Even if Mike Wheeler somehow doesn't make it out of Hawkins alive when the finale airs, Wolfhard will. READ THE STORY Solid cologne, the more traditional cousin to spray-on, is great for airports and personal scents. Garrett Munce picks 8 long lasting fragrances for you to try out. >> You don't have all the workout gear essentials if you're missing a workout hat. Gaby Kiederling recommends 11 that will withstand rain, sun, and sweat. >> Why the Nike Air Max 90 Is the Best Air Max of All What is the most iconic sneaker of all time? The shoes that often enter the conversation are usually ones that resonate with people beyond their intended audience. Converse Chuck Taylor All-Stars and Adidas Superstars were designed for basketball players, but became icons through the Ramones and Run-D.M.C. Onitsuka Tigers were for runners, but Bruce Lee found them ideal for practicing kung fu. (He wore a yellow pair in his final film, Game of Death.) The same is true for one other iconic sneaker that Esquire stands behind today, decades after its creation. In 1987, Nike and architect-turned-sneaker-legend Tinker Hatfield released the Air Max 1, a game-changer for the industry. Inspired by the design of the Centre Pompidou in Paris—which transformed traditionally internal components like pipes and escalators into an external facade—the shoe was made to sell consumers on Nike's "Air" technology and featured a big, visible Air bag in the midsole. The Air Max 1 was big; but the Air Max 90, which came out three years later, is an icon. By Eric Francisco The Lost Art of Surviving a Hangover A long time ago, after a friend's grooms' dinner, during which we drank kegs of beer, copious amounts of gin, and bottles of cheap wine, I woke up with a hangover so bad the world vibrated. Not in a fun way. I'd drunk too much, had too good a time, and I was paying the price. That next day, the day of my friend's wedding, was about surviving—not puking, suppressing the headache, staying on my feet. I succeeded and slept nearly the entire day after until the hangover was gone. This happened in my twenties. Today, at forty-four, a night like that would likely kill me. You've most likely endured a hangover, a "virtually pandemic ailment," according to the writer Kingsley Amis. Maybe it happened to you decades ago or this morning. You meet a friend for a beer, assuming it'll be two drinks—max—and hoping you'll be home by 10 p.m. The music is good, the conversation is even better, and the first two drinks go down easy. So why not a third? A fourth? Sure, it's Wednesday; tomorrow isn't too busy. A shot? Fuck it. A cigarette? I haven't smoked in years—I'd love one! You know this will end badly, and you do it anyway. By Michael Sebastian Follow Us Unsubscribe | Manage Preferences | Privacy Notice | CA Notice at Collection Esquire is a publication of Hearst Magazines. ©2026 Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This email was sent by Hearst Magazines, 300 West 57th Street, New York, NY 10019-3779