Tag: Chelsea

Finn Wolfhard From Stranger Things: Where is he?

Finn Wolfhard as Mike Wheeler

On 1 September this year, the kids from Stranger Things began appearing on the talkshow circuit. The first up was The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.  Finn Wolfhard (Mike),Millie Bobby Brown  (Eleven), Gaten Matarazzo (Dustin) and Caleb McLaughlin (Lucas) all appeared on Fallon’s show twice.

Initially it was to talk about filming the runaway hit and then it was time for a silly game. “Stranger Strings” was a good bit of fun with silly string and Brown did a Nikki Minaj rap.

It seemed that this quartet of young stars would be appearing on all the available talkshows. However, on the Netflix talkshow Chelsea, it was a trio that appeared. Three of the group sans Wolfhard.  No explanation was given as to why the young actor was absent.

Jimmy Kimmel Live! opted for Wynona Ryder and Gaten Matarazzo, each on a separate episode leaving Caleb, Millie and Finn out in the cold.

While the main cast, including Finn, have been running the gauntlet of television interviews, the “big” ones, late night television in the form of Fallon, Kimmel, Myers and “others” like Chelsea Handler as well as The Late Late Show with James Corden have been a bit hit and miss.

Of course Corden and Myers may be a bit too late for the youngsters to appear on so that would explain their absences. (Although a pre-recorded segment would be nice…)

Perhaps with everything going on, such as podcasts and local telly appearances, along with various “net” programs the quartet have tired out.  Although Gaten Matarazzo is still going strong, the others may be flagging.

It is odd, though. The sudden no-show of Finn on Chelsea is puzzling. Although Gaten appearing alone on Jimmy Kimmel Live! may be down to Kimmel not being keen on all of the kids showing up at once.

Searching the Internet shows only The Tonight Show and Chelsea having more than one young actor on at a time. At first glance it could seem like the youngsters have had a falling out. Looking at IMDb, though, provides a clue as to just why young Wolfhard may be AWOL on the rest of the talkshows on offer.

The remake of Stephen King’s It.

Finn has been cast as Richie “Trashmouth” Tozier, the young version of  the man of a thousand voices  who has a quip for any occasion. “Beep beep, Richie.”

On a sidenote: It will be interesting to see Wolfhard in this new role. Tozier was a motormouthed kid whose tendency to speak first and think way later is the polar opposite of Mike Wheeler in Stranger Things. 

Still, the Netflix hit of the summer proved that this youngster has acting chops for days.  It seems that there  is a good chance that Finn is working those chops while his friends and colleagues from the television show hit the talkshow trail.

It (Part One) is due out 8 September 2017.  Looking at the cast list  Finn’s name is listed above the new Pennywise, Bill Skarsgård. This is completely indicative of Hollywood and its publicity heavy pecking order.

Wolfhard, and his costars from Stranger Things are the hottest things going in terms of child actors right now. Hence, his name precedes that of the Skarsgård who plays the  “killer clown.”

So it seems that the reason Finn has been absent from other talkshows is that he is busy working on the Stephen King remake.

Stranger Things Barb Moving On

Shannon Purser as Barbara

All good things come to an end. Barb on Stranger Things will not be returning, so say the Duffer Brothers. Although to be far the two did not mention the character by name.  In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, they talk of the second season and really it is a case of death by omission.

To be fair the last glimpse of the character played by Shannon Purser was not a nice one. Laying in the Upside Down with a slimy slug crawling out of her mouth was proof positive that Barb was dead. Even Eleven says that poor Barbara is “gone.” 

The young actress, however, is alive and well. She turned up on Chelsea Handler’s Netflix show, airing tomorrow on the steaming website,  to deliver a birthday cake to Gaten Matarazzo, aka Dustin  on Stranger Things. It was a present for the lad’s 14th birthday.

While the Chelsea show promises the “kids” from Stranger Things, Finn Wolfhard appears to be missing. Millie Bobby Brown and Caleb McLaughlin are there with Gaten but “Mike” is not part of the group. 

Shannon come out to the surprise of the other young actors from the show.  She then talks a little about her astonishment at the character of Barb becoming so popular. It was, Chelsea tells the audience, Purser’s first ever acting job.

She has not stopped there, however, if one glances at IMDb Shannon is also listed on another television show’s cast list. “Riverdale”  has Purser playing Ethel Muggs. The series airs October 10. It is about, fittingly enough, another town full of secrets. It looks like Shannon may be getting typecast almost before her career gets properly started.

The real news, however, is that Purser has been cast in a new film. According to People Shannon has been given a role in the Melissa McCarthy movie “Life of the Party” (due for release in 2018.). Mike Page hopped onto Twitter and tweeted a thank you to Purser for seeing him. 

Shannon’s manager talked about how busy she has been fielding offers since her appearance in Stranger Things. The 19 year old Atlanta girl was cast as Barb, her first acting gig, and the character’s death spurred on the audience’s imagination.

After the character’s demise, the social media platform began trending #JusticeForBarb. (Something the younger cast members of Stranger Things did not quite understand. On Chelsea, Brown initially opined that justice was a gift.)

The Duffers  have mentioned that season two will have  few new characters and move away from Hawkins, just a little. They have actually, according to Millie Bobby Brown and Caleb McLaughlin anyway, promised some sort of “justice” for Barb. This seems to indicate that the poor high school girl will never leave the Down Under.

At any rate, Shannon may be too busy to make a return to Hawkins, alive or dead.  With another television series, which will be airing on The CW,  and a film, the Duffers may find getting Shannon for any length of time a tad difficult.

Purser is delightful on the couch next to Chelsea on Thursday’s episode of the talkshow.  She, and Barb, have clearly moved on from Stranger Things. There are no details about Life of the Party but is seems fair to assume it will be a comedy. Something that will be a new experience for Shannon after two “drama” shows on the small screen.

Here is a clip from tomorrow’s episode of Chelsea where “Barb” returns to see the kids:

%d bloggers like this: