Stranger Things star Charlie Heaton opens up about becoming a dad at 20 years old

Stranger Things star Charlie Heaton has opened up about the life-changing experience of becoming a father at just 20 years old.

The 31-year-old actor shares his 11-year-old son, Archie, with his former bandmate Akiko Matsuura.

“Being a young father, you have to grow up very fast,” Heaton told Wonderland Magazine in a new interview.

“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.”

Heaton said it is not easy to balance being a young dad and growing his career. “You want to give them good experiences and a lot of love and the hard part obviously is distance,” he said. “But that’s part of the sacrifice.”

Halfway through the first season of Stranger Things, Heaton’s character Jonathan Byers teamed up with Nancy Wheeler, played by Natalia Dyer, who was also Charlie Heaton’s audition partner.

Rumours about Heaton and Dyer’s off-screen romance began in 2016, about a year into filming, and they confirmed their relationship with a red carpet public appearance in 2017.

Heaton says they did not plan to go public at that time, and they were surprised by how intense the reaction from fans has been. Even now, their social media comments are full of people asking for more couple content.

“It’s nice, I guess?” Heaton said, admitting their relationship “heightens” the invested fans’ emotions.

“It’s been a gift to work with my best friend,” he shared.

“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.”

Heaton added that their shared work experience has strengthened their relationship. “You can be there to talk about it, or when you have a s*** day at work, or come away from a scene and you didn’t think it worked,” he said. “To be able to both understand each other on that level is great.”

Dyer has expressed similar sentiments in the past. Speaking to Refinery29 in 2019, she said, “It’s an interesting thing to work with somebody who you go home with. We’re really comfortable with each other, so we can play and feel more free, and we can talk about it before.”