Quick Wiki
- Full Name Caleb McLaughlin
- Occupation Actor
- Nationality American
- Birthplace Carmel, New York
- Birth Date Oct 13, 2001
- Age 23 Years, 2 Months
Caleb McLaughlin | Biography
Has Announced that he will make his Music Debut in 2021McLaughlin has announced that he will make his music debut in 2021. But he has disclosed limited information on his solo album. He shared that he was working with a producer in a mixed genre set of music and aspired to establish himself in the industry.
Caleb McLaughlin is an American actor famous for his performance as Lucas Sinclair in the Netflix series Stranger things.
Who is Caleb McLaughlin?
At the age of 11, Caleb McLaughlin made his Broadway debut in 2012 in Lion King as a young Simba. Then he did multiple guest-starring roles in television series and also acted in two off-Broadway shows.
After that, he appeared in a short film created and directed by New York University students, Noah Dreams of the Origami Fortune, as the lead character Noah.
Subsequently, in 2016, he appeared as one of the leading characters on Stranger Things. The show was released on Netflix. More than 14 million people watched it within its first 35 days of release. The show was also renewed for further seasons. The second season was released in 2017, and the third season in 2019. The fourth season is expected to release in late 2021. The show has introduced McLaughlin to a larger fanbase.
The cast of Stranger Things also won the ‘Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series in 2018’s Screen Actors Guild Award, while McLaughlin bagged the ‘Outstanding Performance by a Youth Award’ in the 2018 NAACP Image Award.
In addition, McLaughlin also appeared in the mini-series The New Edition Story in 2017, followed by the animated cartoon series Final Space in 2018 and then the Netflix short movie High Flying Birds 2019. In 2021, he made his movie debut in Concrete Cowboys, acting alongside Idris Elba and Jharrel Jerome. He also announced the preparation of his solo album, which was set to release within 2021.
Early Life
McLaughlin was born on 13 October 2001 in Carmel, New York. While growing up, he wanted to become an artist. He would study dance at the Harlem School of Arts. He was home-schooled since he started training. He was also trained to sing, act, and among dance styles, he was taught ballet, tap, and jazz dancing.
Is Caleb McLaughlin in 'The Lion King'?
McLaughlin started his career on Broadway; he made his debut in 2012 from the role of young Simba in the infamous Lion King. He appeared in the Broadway show from 2012 to 2014.
McLaughlin also did off-Broadway shows: Painted Rocks at Revolver’s Creek, written and directed by Anthol Fugard, followed by Lost in the Stars at the Kurt Weil Opera and the Glimmerglass Opera in Cooperstown. He then appeared on numerous television shows in guest-starring roles, such as Forever, Unforgettable, Law and Order, Show Me a Hero, 20/20 What Would You Do?, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, Blue Bloods, and Shades of Blue alongside Jennifer Lopez.
‘Noah Dreams of Origami Fortunes’
Also, in 2012, McLaughlin appeared as Noah in the short movie Noah Dreams of Origami Fortunes.
The movie tells a story about Noah, a child who fantasizes about having a normal family after losing his parents in an accident. During a parent-teacher meeting, he concocts a number of scams in the hopes of reuniting with a mother and father figure in his life. He tries to connect his snobbish older brother and elementary school instructor with the help of an origami fortune teller.
The short film was written and directed by NYU student Royce Dunmore, and it was produced by Gwen Lee, another NYU student. Regardless of the small production and short buzz, the movie aided in establishing McLaughlin’s talents as a young actor.
How did Caleb McLaughlin get into 'Stranger Things'?
After McLaughlin highlighted the role of young Simba on Broadway in 2012, McLaughlin auditioned tirelessly for other projects. He was young, and the dedication to audition was not constantly fruitful; he felt like giving up most of the time. He reminisced, “When I was younger, I was sometimes like, ‘I don’t feel like auditioning for anything right now, I think I’m going to pass. And my mom was like ‘No! Audition, audition!’”
Eventually, he landed a role in the Netflix original series created by The Duffer Brothers, titled Stranger Things. The show was first available on Netflix on 15 July 2016.
The series was set in the early to mid-1980s, in a fictional town of Hawkins, Indiana. The plot opens up with a young boy’s disappearance, which unfolds a mystery relating to the town’s secret experiments, paranormal activities, and the story of a strange girl.
The show starred Millie Bobby Brown, Finn Wolfhard, Noah Schnapp, Gaten Matarazzo, and McLaughlin as the leading young actors, along with David Harbor and ‘Oscar’ nominated actress Winnona Ryder as the leading adult actors.
More than 14 million people watched the show within the first 35 days of release. It was one of the successful shows on Netflix, outgrowing the platform to other countries too. The second season of the series was released on 27 October 2017, followed by its third season on 4 July 2019.
Together, the first three seasons garnered 31 ‘Emmy Award’ nominations, 4 ‘Golden Globes’ nominations, and 3 ‘Grammy Nominations.’ In addition, the series won the ‘Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series’ in 2018’s ‘Screen Actors Guild Award.’ McLaughlin also won the ‘Outstanding Performance by a Youth Award’ in the 2018 ‘NAACP Image Award.’
As the show got immense popularity and fan following, the show’s cast received significant pay raise at the end of the third season. McLaughlin and Wolfhard, Matarazzo, and Schnapp were disclosed to have received a salary of $250,000 per episode while Brown’s pay was kept confidential.
The teaser of the season was released on 6 May 2021.
Stranger Things: Game 3
In 2017, the gaming developing company BonusXP Studios launched video games based on Stranger Things. The games were based on the endeavors of a plot.
Then in 2019, the third season-based retro-themed adventures were added to the gaming series. It was named ‘Stranger Things 3: The Game’ and featured all the 16 characters of the series, including McLaughlin’s character Lucas Sinclair.
The third season-based game was aimed to produce a bigger vision of the original series with added plotlines of the season. The singer-player game delved into the places and activities the characters went through. It was particularly focused on the true fans of the series.
‘Stranger Things 3: The Game’ was introduced at the Game Awards in December by the creators of the original series, the Duffer brothers. And on 4 July of the same year, it was made available on platforms such as the Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Mac, and PC.
‘The New Edition Story,’ ‘Final Space’ and ‘High Flying Birds’
In addition to Stranger Things, McLaughlin was involved in other projects.
In 2017, he played the role of Young Ricky Bell in the popular mini-series The New Edition Story. The show was about the R&B band New Edition from their Boston upbringing to their fame.
McLaughlin appeared on two episodes of the series and received nominations for his work in the film. He was nominated for the ‘BET Awards’ for ‘YoungStars Award’ and then also nominated for a ‘Black Reel Award’ for ‘Outstanding Supporting Actor, TV Movie/Limited Series.’
In 2018, McLaughlin voiced the character Young Gary in chapter 4 of the animated tv-series Final Space.
The science-fiction adventure was created by Olan Rogers. It entails the adventures of Gary, an astronaut, and his planet-destroying sidekick, Mooncake. They embark on a serialized travel through space to discover the cosmos ending and find the answers regarding its existence.
TBS aired the show for the first time in 2018, while its fourth and final season was sired in June 2021.
Further, in 2019, McLaughlin also appeared in the role of Darius in the sports drama movie High Flying Bird. The film was directed by Steven Soderbergh and was shot solely on an iPhone before being released on Netflix.
‘Brawl with the Stars’
On 12 April 2019, Caleb McLaughlin and his Stranger Things costar Finn Wolfhard participated in the inaugural edition of the mobile gaming competition Brawl with the Stars. McLaughlin and Wolfhard’s competition was hosted by the YouTube personality Chief Pat, who is also known as the CEO and founder of Tribe Gaming.
The game ‘Brawl Stars’ was developed by the Supercell company. The company also developed the infamous ‘Clash Royale’ and ‘Clash of Clans.’
‘Concrete Cowboys’
In 2020, McLaughlin announced his big movie debut during the shoot of the final episodes of Stanger Things. It was Ricky Staub’s feature film, Concrete Cowboys. It was released in April of 2021 and premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in 2020.
He acted alongside the legendary actor Idris Elba and Jharrel Jerome in the movie. He played the role of a troubled teenager from Detroit sent to live in Philadelphia with his estranged father (played by Elba) after being expelled from school. In Philadelphia, he learned about the historical Fletcher Street Urban Riding Club, a community of Black Horses enthusiasts, the urban cowboy culture, and also his relationship with his father.
Mclaughlin was chosen for the role among the 1,500 actors. Before sending his auditioning tape, he called the director Staub to talk about the possibilities of the role. McLaughlin recounted, “I was like, ‘Wow, this guy Ricky is so talented. I knew I had to jump on this with him and talk to him on the phone. And he was like, ‘Hey man, I want you to audition.’ A week later, I did a self-tape and didn’t hear back for a whole month. And then I heard that I got the role, and I was like, ‘I’m going to Philly!’”
For his role, McLaughlin trained for a month, learning to ride horses. The production of the show also included actual Fletcher cowboys from Philadelphia. McLaughlin connoted that the shooting process was one of the special moments of his life that included experiences from working with Elba to witnessing the culturally rich community of riders.
Music & Upcoming Album
McLaughlin starred in the 2017 music video for Sia’s chart-topping holiday song ‘Santa’s Coming for Us.’ He appeared alongside Kristen Bell, Dax Shephard, and Henry Winkler. The video was directed by the legendary music video director Marc Klasfeld.
In addition to that, McLaughlin has announced that he will make his music debut in 2021. But he has disclosed limited information on his solo album. He shared that he was working with a producer in a mixed genre set of music and aspired to establish himself in the industry.
Did You Know?
- McLaughlin has been actively involved in social media campaigns. He has promoted a healthy body image to improve the self-esteem of people. Through his campaign “EmbraceYourFace,” he spreads awareness to his followers on accepting and embracing their faces, and through “BeYourBiggestFan,” he suggests everyone practice self-love.
- In 2021, McLaughlin made the Forbes’ ’30 under 30 Entertainment’ alongside Doja Cat, Sabrina Carpenter, Jeremy Pope, Ramy Youssef, and others.
- On Stranger Things, American actress Sadie Sink plays the character Max Mayfield, the girlfriend of Lucas Sinclair, played by Caleb Mclaughlin. The two-character shared a kiss in season two’s last episode. The “unscripted” kiss was the first kiss for both Sink and McLaughlin. The pair have developed a friendship bond ever since they met for the first time on Broadway—she was in Annie, and he was in The Lion King.
- According to Celebritynetworth, McLaughlin’s estimated net worth is $3 million.
