Stranger Things star Charlie Heaton: I can relate to loner character

Actor Charlie Heaton says his “humble upbringing” helped him understand his character in hit Netflix drama Stranger Things.

The British star, 23, is from the North Yorkshire town of Bridlington. He moved to London at 16 to become a musician and then went into acting.

His role in sci-fi series Stranger Things was his first major part. He plays a loner called Jonathan whose younger brother goes missing in mysterious circumstances from the fictional town of Hawkins, Indiana. The boys’ mother is played by Winona Ryder.

Heaton told GQ Style: “I wasn’t a total outsider at school like Jonathan, but I wasn’t necessarily the popular kid either.

“I felt I understood why Jonathan was the way he was — a bit of an older soul… I had a very humble upbringing like him and was also brought up by my mother. I also liked the idea of how he’s trying to discover himself and work out who he is and where he belongs.”

Netflix recently announced that the Emmy award-winning series will return for a second season. Heaton said: “I didn’t know what to expect about where the show was going. But it trumped whatever I was thinking.

“A lot of things are going to be addressed. The [original] script felt very different from the start. And then when I got to see the scenes we were making on the monitor, I could tell it was something special. I remember thinking, ‘Wow, this could be a classic.’”

Stranger Things 2 is expected to be released in October.

Read the full interview in the spring/summer issue of GQ Style, out now.