The Hawkins kids are all grown up \u2014 and crashing SNL.<\/b>
\nFinn Wolfhard used his Saturday Night Live monologue to officially announce that his child star era is over \u2014 though his Stranger Things costars Caleb McLaughlin and Gaten Matarazzo had other plans.
Hosting the Saturday, January 17 episode of SNL, the 23-year-old actor kicked things off by addressing life after Stranger Things, the Duffer Brothers\u2019 sci-fi juggernaut that wrapped its run in December 2025 after first premiering when Wolfhard was just 12.
Wolfhard described the end of the series as \u201cbittersweet,\u201d before joking about how much of his adolescence played out on screen.
\u201cI gotta tell you, it\u2019s so amazing that 400 million people got to watch me go through puberty,\u201d he quipped. \u201cWhat a dream.\u201d
The show then aired a mock clip highlighting \u201cthe exact moment\u201d Wolfhard\u2019s voice changed, exaggerating a scene opposite Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) as his voice dropped to an absurdly deep register.
\u201cMy voice changed on camera. My first kiss was on camera. And \u2014 I can\u2019t actually believe I\u2019m admitting this, but \u2014 the first time I learned what a woman looks like down there was on there as well,\u201d he added, punctuated by footage of a Demogorgon roaring.
Acknowledging that many fans still associate him with his Hawkins Middle School days, Wolfhard tried to make one thing clear.
\u201cI know a lot of people still see me as the kid from Stranger Things, right? But I\u2019m 23 now, and I\u2019m proud to officially announce that I am a man.\u201d
He continued leaning into the bit, pointing out the smallest signs of adulthood.
\u201cThings are different now. Like, for example, I have facial hair. Can we zoom in on it? It might only be one hair, but the party starts when the first guest arrives.\u201d
Wolfhard then attempted to drink alcohol onstage \u2014 only to spit it all over SNL cast member Marcello Hernandez.
\u201cToo spicy!\u201d he declared.
\u201cMeet the new me \u2014 the man me. Stranger Things is over, and I\u2019m not a kid anymore,\u201d Wolfhard said.
That\u2019s when McLaughlin (Lucas Sinclair) and Matarazzo (Dustin Henderson) suddenly popped into frame, drawing cheers from the audience.
\u201cAnd neither are we!\u201d McLaughlin announced.
After soaking in the surprise reunion, Wolfhard clarified, \u201cWe\u2019re not child stars, we\u2019re former child stars.\u201d
Matarazzo quickly added, \u201cAnd anytime you read \u2018former child star\u2019 in a headline, it can only mean good things.\u201d
\u201cIt\u2019s true,\u201d Wolfhard agreed. \u201cSo thanks to everyone who watched us grow up on the show.\u201d
McLaughlin chimed in with a familiar fan experience: \u201cAnd then went online and commented about our changing faces and bodies.\u201d
To wrap up the monologue, Wolfhard raised a toast to his longtime castmates.
\u201cEven though we\u2019re now men, you\u2019ll always be my boys,\u201d he said, before concluding, \u201cTo us, child stars, who are now ready to do adult films.\u201d
Saturday Night Live airs Saturdays at 11:30 p.m. ET on NBC.
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