What The Cast Of Stranger Things: Tales From '85 Looks Like In Real Life

As Looper's article on everything you need to know about "Stranger Things: Tales from '85" notes, this is the first inevitable "Stranger Things" spin-off heading our way. The animated show's central premise is to cover the events during the winter of 1985, which puts it somewhere between Season 2 and Season 3 in the entire "Stranger Things" timeline. 

Of course, the fact that the show is animated means that it was always somewhat unlikely that the producers would splurge on the necessary cash to bring back all the original talent. After all, most of the key cast members have been on a meteoric rise for years now, so hiring new faces — or rather, voices — enables creator-showrunner Eric Robles to make this show without breaking the bank. 

This, in turn, means that many fans might not know what the new actors voicing their favorite characters actually look like. Let's fix that right now with Looper's look at the new stars of "Stranger Things: Tales from '85."

Erstwhile Hawkins Police Chief Jim Hopper was the role that took David Harbour from comparative obscurity to numerous major roles, including Alexei "Red Guardian" Shostakov in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Because of this, perhaps it's only fair that "Stranger Things: Tales from' 85" would give the star-making role of Hopper to an actor who's not quite an established name yet.

The animated Hopper's commanding presence gets its voice from Brett Gipson, who is a comparative unknown in the industry. Though he's been active since the late 2000s, his acting résumé has a distinct journeyman tone to it. Gipson's biggest TV credits to date are guest roles in shows like "Shameless," "NCIS," "S.W.A.T.," and "Station 19." He has also played Gunther in the 2013 fantasy comedy film "Knights of Badassdom."

Gipson has voice acted before "Stranger Things: Tales from '85" as well: in 2024, he voiced Varanis in the video game "Contra: Operation Galuga."

The closest thing to a primary male protagonist among the younger generation of "Stranger Things" characters, Mike Wheeler is the de facto leader of the Party and the focal point of many key events on the show. Meanwhile, original Mike actor Finn Wolfhard has become a bona fide movie star thanks to his key role in the "Ghostbusters" franchise and other works. Of course, like virtually all other younger stars of the hit show, he has also aged out of the role — especially since "Stranger Things: Tales from '85" takes things back to the titular year, when Mike was only 13 or 14 years old.

Mike's role, then, has gone to a younger performer. Understandably, Luca Diaz doesn't have a whole bunch of experience on the acting front yet, but he already has notched a number of voice performances. Diaz's first voice roles date back to 2023, when he voiced Stevie on "Transformers: Earth Spark" and provided additional voices for Benjamin Renner's animated movie "Migration." The same year, he also played the role of Hunter in Dicky Murphy's Nickelodeon series "Erin and Aaron."

The powerful psychokinetic Eleven, aka Jane Hopper, is the overarching hero of the entire "Stranger Things" story. She's instrumental in every single season of the show, and her development as a character — not to mention her relationship to franchise Big Bad Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower) — is arguably the biggest arc of the entire franchise.

Brown's best and even her worst "Stranger Things" episodes are a testament to her character's importance. Because of this, Eleven's return for "Stranger Things: Tales from '85" was never really in question. However, Millie Bobby Brown's return to voice the character very much was. Ever since Brown broke through in the role, she's been making movies left and right, notably playing Madison Russell in "Godzilla: King of the Monsters" and "Godzilla vs. Kong," as well as the titular young detective in Netflix's "Enola Holmes" films, which Brown wanted to adapt since she was 13.

Taking over the role of Eleven on "Tales from '85" is a considerably less known name — for now, at least. Brooklyn Davey Norstedt has only appeared in a single episode of the Apple TV drama "WeCrashed" before landing the "Stranger Things" gig. It is, however, worth noting that "WeCrashed" was a major project starring Jared Leto and Anne Hathaway, so the rising young star is clearly accustomed to the kind of bright spotlight that the "Stranger Things" spin-off might lead to.

Depending on the situation, Dustin Henderson can act as both the heart and the brains of the Party on "Stranger Things," and much of that comes courtesy of Gaten Matarazzo's almost impossibly charming performance. Matarazzo has said he hopes to channel Daniel Radcliffe's career and the weird roles the "Harry Potter" star has taken. As such, the actor has been busying himself with more eclectic work, such as voicing Lucky in Andy Serkis' 2025 animated film "Animal Farm" and starring in the 2026 Hulu absurdist comedy "Pizza Movie."

The character's new voice actor is Braxton Quinney, who's another comparatively new name in the industry. He has, however, already worked on one major project, providing additional voices for Pixar's 2026 animated animal body-swap adventure, "Hoppers." Quinney's earlier credits include minor on-screen roles in the 2018 sport biopic "Bigger" and the 2020 television movie "You Can't Take My Daughter." 

Caleb McLaughlin's Lucas Sinclair tends to have more common sense than his friends, which makes him the voice of reason and skepticism in the Party — but also sometimes puts him at odds with the assorted cloudcuckoolanders among his friends. Outside "Stranger Things," Laughlin has actually done plenty of voice acting, playing Mo-Slo on"The Boys Presents: Diabolical," young Gary on "Final Space," and Ghost on "Summer Camp Island," among others. Despite this, McLaughlin doesn't return to voice Lucas on "Stranger Things: Tales from 85," likely for the same reason that none of the other original kids return to their roles.

Lucas is voiced on the show by Elisha Williams, who's one of the more experienced young stars among the new cast. Williams is probably best known for his role as Dean Williams on "The Wonder Years." However, he also has plenty of voice acting experience. His single longest-running role is voicing Bingo on the Disney Junior animated show "Puppy Dog Pals," and he's also one of the voices of Flash Fireson on the Disney Junior animated firefighter show "Firebuds."

Whether it's abduction or possession by monsters, or simply an atrocious bowl cut, Noah Schnapp's Will Byers is rarely far from the top when lists of the most long-suffering "Stranger Things" characters are made. Schnapp had already voiced Charlie Brown in "The Peanuts Movie" and played Roger Donovan in Steven Spielberg's "Bridge of Spies" before debuting in the role of Will. After "Stranger Things" ended, he's been somewhat less active, but he nevertheless doesn't return for "Stranger Things: Tales from '85" any more than any of his co-stars do.

Instead of Schnapp, young actor Ben Plessala voices Will on the animated spin-off. He's been acting since he was just five years old, and his very first role was a guest star turn on "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation." He's also appeared on shows like "Criminal Minds," "Shameless," and "Big Little Lies." Plessala's voice credits include working on video games like the "Final Fantasy VII" remake and "The Last of Us: Part II," and he's also provided additional voices for "The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run", and "Minions 2: The Rise of Gru." 

Max Mayfield is a Season 2 addition to "Stranger Things" lore, but she becomes one of the most interesting and important members of the Party as the seasons pass. Max is targeted by Vecna and her brother alike, which makes her a particularly important character in the grand scheme of things — arguably as important as Eleven herself. Max is played on the show by the magnificent Sadie Sink, whose powerful presence has since gained Hollywood's attention. She has recently transitioned into the world of movies, gaining attention in particular for a mysterious Marvel Cinematic Universe role that's briefly featured in the "Spider-Man: Brand New Day" trailer. 

As with other characters, Max has been recast for the animated "Stranger Things: Tales from '85." Here, the character will be played by Jolie Hoang-Rappaport, who has been acting in voice and live action projects since the year 2018. She's played notable parts on TV shows "Cousins for Life," "Just Add Magic: Mystery City," and "Head of the Class," though she's likely best known for her recurring role as Bian on HBO's 2019 TV miniseries "Watchmen." Hoang-Rappaport has also lent her voice to projects like the 2023 animated movies "Craig of the Creek" and "The Monkey King," as well as the 2025 animated film "In Your Dreams," where she plays the starring role of Stevie. With an actor with experience like this, it's easy to expect that Max is set to play a fairly major role on the show.

Steve Harrington and his magnificent hair have been played by Joe Keery throughout "Stranger Things." He progresses from an antagonistic jock to an integral protagonist, as well as a man who proves time and time again that he can be trusted no matter what. Keery, of course, has long since also moved into bigger projects and has been easy to spot in movies like "Free Guy," "Marmalade," and "Cold Storage" as well as TV shows like "Fargo." However, the one place he definitely cannot be spotted (or heard) is "Stranger Things: Tales from '85."

Instead of Keery, Steve Harrington will be voiced on the show by Jeremy Jordan. Another fairly experienced actor, Jordan is known for his appearances as Winn Schott on "Supergirl," Luke in the TV show "It Could Be Worse," and Jimmy Collins in "Smash," among other things. Jordan is also a seasoned voice actor and singer who has multiple voice roles under his belt. It remains to be seen whether the performer will get to use his singing voice in the role of Steve.

We are jumping headfirst into new character territory with punk rock aficionado Nikki Baxter, a transfer student in the main characters' school and something of a viewpoint character who befriends the Party. This, combined with the fact that she's not around for later seasons, unfortunately does not seem to bode well for the character — but we'll see how it goes, won't we?

Even without knowing all that, we could have been fairly sure that Nikki will be influential, simply based on who's portraying her. The character's voiced by Odessa A'Zion,  who has ample experience from many major projects over the years. A'Zion has been acting since the 2010s, with her first major role being in the country music drama "Nashville" in 2007. In 2019, she played Shannon on "Fam," and the next year she was Joey Del Marco on "Grand Army." A'Zion has also appeared in the recurring role of Tiffany in the TV series "Ghosts." 

Her film experience is also sizable. A'Zion has made her mark in horror movies like "Hellraiser" (2022) and "Until Dawn" (2025). To major audiences, she's probably best known for her role as Rachel Mizler in director Josh Safdie's 2025 sports comedy-drama "Marty Supreme."

Another major new addition on "Stranger Things: Tales from '85" is Janeane Garofalo, who you likely know from multiple projects before this. The two-time Primetime Emmy nominee has appeared in movies like the undervalued 1999 superhero parody "Mystery Men," "Wet Hot American Summer," and "The Apology." Of course, she's also a former cast member of "Saturday Night Live."

Garofalo will voice an original "Stranger Things: Tales from '85" character called Anna Baxter. Based on promotional pictures, Anna seems to be a scientist of some sort, which indicates that she might play a major role. It remains to be seen whether she's one of the many hostile or nefarious lab coats of the franchise, or if she turns out to be a rare good one, a la Paul Reiser's Dr. Sam Owens.

Other new characters created for "Stranger Things: Tales from '85" include Daniel Fischer, who works at Hawkins Food Mart and has a friendly rapport with Dustin in particular. Knowing what happened to the owner of Benny's Burgers (Chris Sullivan) in  "Stranger Things" Season 1, being a service industry worker who gets along with one of the main kids doesn't necessarily bode terribly well for the character. 

Then again, judging by who's voicing Daniel, there is a decent chance that the Food Mart man will turn out to be far more resourceful than his day job would imply. Daniel's voice actor is Lou Diamond Phillips, whose extensive experience in both movies and TV shows has often seen him play capable characters. He rose to prominence in the late 1980s, playing Ritchie Valens in "La Bamba" and Chavez y Chavez in the 1988 Western "Young Guns." Since then, Phillips has continued to regularly appear on screens both big and small.

One particularly interesting casting decision for "Stranger Things: Tales from '85" involves a name who has actually already appeared on the flagship show before. Fans of the franchise might remember horror legend Robert Englund well from his role as Victor Creel on "Stranger Things" Season 4. The creepy Mr. Creel and his mutilated eyes basically scream villainy, but for once, Englund was not a major antagonist. Instead, he's the much-tormented father of Vecna, and a victim as much as anyone else who has the misfortune of coming across the psychokinetic bad guy.  

Englund, of course, is an award-winning actor who has appeared in dozens and dozens of projects over the decades. He's easily best known for his long-standing role as Freddy Krueger, the knife-gloved sleep demon villain of the "Nightmare on Elm Street" franchise. Apart from this, he's a versatile character actor whose CV just so happens to include plenty of voice performances.  

Because of this and his comparatively small "Stranger Things" role, it's not a massive surprise that he makes a return in the animated spin-off. As for his character, the only thing we know is that his name is Cosmo. Could the franchise be planning to hoodwink its fans not just once but twice, by first featuring Englund in a normal role and then bringing him back as a villain? Stranger things have happened. 

Cara Buono's Karen Wheeler is one of the many adults on "Stranger Things" who remain largely unaware of most of the supernatural proceedings in the town's shady underbelly — a primary example of the kind of useless, oblivious mother or father juxtaposed against the far more capable Chief Hopper and Winona Ryder's Joyce Byers. Granted, Karen does get there in the end, but "Stranger Things: Tales from '85" takes place around the time when she's still very much out of it, and far more likely to flirt with the likes of Billy Hargrove (Dacre Montgomery) than try to beat up a Demogorgon with a wine bottle.  

Buono joins the ranks of "Stranger Things" stars who won't be reprising their roles in the animated spinoff. Instead, Karen will be voiced by Alysia Reiner, who's best known for her role as Natalie "Fig" Figueroa on Netflix's classic women's prison comedy-drama "Orange Is the New Black." Reiner has also appeared in movies like "Sideways, "Equity," and "Ava's Possessions." On the television front, "Orange Is the New Black" is only the tip of her CV iceberg. Her other roles include Catherine Dunn on "Shining Vale" and Agent Ivy Griffin  on "The Diplomat," among many others.

As the primary female protagonist of the older kids on "Stranger Things," Natalie Dyer's Nancy Wheeler wears multiple hats over the course of the show's run. She's a talented journalist and a weirdly great sniper, among a great many other things. What she decidedly is not is a helpless damsel in distress.

Like many other characters from the original show, Nancy will return for "Stranger Things: Tales from '85." And like many other characters in the spin-off, she won't be voiced by her original actor. As such, Alessandra Antonelli takes on the role Dyer made famous. 

Antonelli is a comparative newcomer in the acting game. Before inheriting the role of Nancy, she has over only appeared in half a dozen short movies and TV miniseries. As such, expect her profile to rise dramatically now that the animated show has dropped.