2012–2016: Early roles and breakthrough with Stranger Things Wolfhard's first acting role was in the 2012 music video for the song "Retro Oceans" by Vancouver band Facts. In 2014, he made his television debut as Zoran in the second season of the
post-apocalyptic science fiction series
The 100. The following year, he appeared as Jordie Pinsky in the series
Supernatural. In 2016, Wolfhard began portraying
Mike Wheeler in the Netflix series
Stranger Things. He auditioned for the role via video after seeing an open casting call. Wolfhard, along with his castmates, won a
SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series. He and co-stars
Noah Schnapp,
Gaten Matarazzo, and
Caleb McLaughlin competed against one another in a 2017 episode of
Spike's
Lip Sync Battle.
2017–2021: Further success and recognition In July 2017, Wolfhard co-directed his first music video with Josh Ovalle for the band Spendtime Palace's song "Sonora". The casting of Wolfhard in both
Stranger Things and
It, both set in the 1980s, had been a coincidence. According to Wolfhard, he had been initially cast as Richie when
Cary Fukunaga was attached as director and co-writer, but when Fukunaga left the project over creative differences, the role fell through which allowed him to pursue
Stranger Things. Once
Andy Muschietti became attached to
It, Wolfhard had to re-audition for the role of Richie. In October 2017, Wolfhard parted ways with his former agency,
APA, and fired former agent Tyler Grasham following allegations that Grasham had sexually assaulted aspiring young male actors. Wolfhard himself had not been assaulted. He played Tyler, an altruistic and thoughtful pizza delivery boy, in the 2018
Ken Marino-directed
ensemble comedy film,
Dog Days. In January 2019, Wolfhard starred in the Netflix animated series
Carmen Sandiego as "Player", the
title character's chief accomplice and friend. In May, he made his modeling debut in
Saint Laurent's Fall/Winter '19 campaign. He reprised his role as young Richie in flashbacks for the sequel
It Chapter Two (2019), and co-starred in
The Goldfinch (2019), the
John Crowley-directed adaptation of
Donna Tartt's
novel, playing Young Boris Pavlikovsky, a Ukrainian student and troublemaker. Wolfhard had not been Crowley's first choice as he wanted to cast an authentic Russian actor for Boris, but Wolfhard's near perfect Russian accent in his audition helped him get the role. Wolfhard also provided the voice of
Pugsley Addams in an
animated remake of
The Addams Family. From 2017 to 2019, he was listed in
Variety's Hollywood Youth Impact Report. In 2018 and 2019,
The Hollywood Reporter named him as one of the top 30 stars under age 18. In January 2020, Wolfhard portrayed Miles in the
supernatural horror film
The Turning, an adaptation of
Henry James' novella
The Turn of the Screw, and co-starred in the
anthology film Omniboat: A Fast Boat Fantasia (2020). Wolfhard then starred in the
Jeremy Schaulin-Rioux–directed short film,
Rules for Werewolves (2020), based on playwright and novelist
Kirk Lynn's adapted screenplay from his debut novel, which is set to become a feature-length film with Wolfhard attached to star. and the animated series ''
JJ Villard's Fairy Tales as Boypunzel, a gender-swapped version of Rapunzel. Wolfhard joined the Jason Reitman–directed comedy miniseries Home Movie: The Princess Bride, which raised money for World Central Kitchen, and performed a live reading of The Princess Bride''s script, as the Grandson, for a
Democratic Party of Wisconsin charity event in September 2020. At the age of 17, Wolfhard made his directorial debut with the comedy short film,
Night Shifts (2020). He released the film on YouTube the following year. Wolfhard co-starred in the
Audible Original,
When You Finish Saving the World (2020), written by
Jesse Eisenberg. He narrates Ziggy Katz, a 15-year-old boy recording audio sessions to a futuristic bot therapist. The audiobook was adapted by Eisenberg into the comedy-drama film
When You Finish Saving the World (2022), with
Julianne Moore and Wolfhard starring as mother and son. In July 2020, it was announced that Wolfhard and his brother Nick would be headlining the voice cast of sci-fi animated series
NEW-GEN, playing twin brothers. Wolfhard was included in
Forbes 30 Under 30 class of 2020 in the field of Hollywood and entertainment. Wolfhard co-starred with
Carrie Coon in Jason Reitman's
Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021), playing the son of Coon's single mother. He was cast alongside
Willem Dafoe,
Emily Watson, and
Helena Zengel in
A24's fantasy epic
The Legend of Ochi, directed by
Isaiah Saxon. In November 2021, he announced that he is working on directing a feature-length film,
Hell of a Summer. In 2022, Wolfhard joined
Guillermo del Toro's stop-motion animated musical film
Pinocchio.
2022–present: Directing, and focus on music in 2025 In 2023, Wolfhard and his friend and frequent collaborator
Billy Bryk released the theatrical feature film
Hell of a Summer, which they co-directed, co-wrote and co-starred in. The film debuted at the
2023 Toronto International Film Festival, where it was named second runner-up for the
People's Choice Award for Midnight Madness. That same year, he voiced a younger version of the titular character in
Scott Pilgrim Takes Off, released in November. In October 2025, Wolfhard lent his voice in a short CGI film
ParaNorman: The Thrifting! during the Halloween re-release of the
film, alongside
Anna Kendrick. Also in October 2025, it was reported that Wolfhard was developing a
biopic centered on the band
The Replacements. Based on the autobiography
Trouble Boys: The True Story of the Replacements, Wolfhard will co-write the screenplay with his father and also produce the film. In November 2025, it was announced that Wolfhard would star in a film titled
Crash Land alongside
Gabriel LaBelle, with Dempsey Bryk directing. A few weeks later, it was announced that Wolfhard's new band, The Aubreys, with Calpurnia drummer Malcolm Craig, would debut on the soundtrack of his film,
The Turning (2020). The Aubreys released their single, "Loved One" on March 10, 2020, and their debut
EP,
Soda & Pie, through
AWAL, on March 13, 2020. Their next single, "Smoke Bomb" was released on August 17, 2020. The Aubreys' first collaboration single with Lunar Vacation, "No Offerings" was released on January 12, 2021. Their second single of 2021, "Sand in My Bed" was released on February 14. The Aubreys released their single "Karaoke Alone" on September 10, 2021, from the group's debut studio LP,
Karaoke Alone, which was released on November 5, 2021. Wolfhard released his debut studio album,
Happy Birthday, on June 6, 2025, via
AWAL. After the release of the
Stranger Things series finale, and the overall
conclusion of the
series as a whole, Wolfhard announced he will be focusing on his music over acting. ==Advocacy==