Charlie Heaton is usually pretty private, but the Stranger Things star just opened up about a major part of his life fans rarely hear about — fatherhood.
That’s right, the 31-year-old actor, who plays Jonathan Byers on the hit Netflix series, actually became a dad even before the first season of Stranger Things premiered.
Charlie welcomed his son, now 11, when he was just 20 years old. He shares the child with his ex and former Comanechi bandmate, Akiko Matsuura. While he often doesn’t talk about his son, he did get candid about what it was like stepping into fatherhood so young in a November 2025 interview with Wonderland Magazine.
“Being a young father, you have to grow up very fast. You have to also learn ethical priorities, too, and you’ve got to look after somebody. That’s a big thing. You want to give them good experiences and a lot of love and the hard part obviously is distance. But that’s part of the sacrifice,” he shared.
Of course, longtime fans also know Charlie’s life changed again when he met his Stranger Things co-star Natalia Dyer. The two have been together for nearly a decade, keeping their relationship low-key but steady, even as the show turned them into huge stars. In the same interview, Charlie opened up about why their bond works so well.
“It’s been a gift to work with my best friend,” he said. “To be able to have a shared experience with your partner about the anxiety when you don’t get a job – I know what that feels like, she knows what that feels like. You can be there to talk about it, or when you have a shit day at work, or come away from a scene and you didn’t think it worked. To be able to both understand each other on that level is great.”
Charlie isn’t the only parent in the Stranger Things cast, as star Millie Bobby Brown recently revealed she adopted a baby girl with husband Jake Bongiovi in August 2025.
“We are beyond excited to embark on this beautiful next chapter of parenthood in both peace and privacy,” Brown and Bongiovi wrote in their announcement post on Instagram.
In November 2025, Brown opened up about becoming a mother for the first time in an interview with British Vogue.
“It’s been a beautiful, amazing journey — she’s taught us so much already,” she said. “Perspective is a huge thing. The smaller things in life are so much more precious. Our days are filled with lots of cuddles and laughter and love. It’s just endless joy.”
