Caleb McLaughlin
{{Short description|American actor (born 2001)}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Caleb McLaughlin
| image = Caleb mclaughlin 2022 1.jpg
| alt =
| caption = McLaughlin in Neuss, Germany at the German Stranger Con in 2022
| birth_name = Caleb Reginald McLaughlin
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|2001|10|13}}
| birth_place = Carmel, New York, U.S.
| death_date =
| death_place =
| occupation = Actor
| years_active = 2012–present
}}
Caleb Reginald McLaughlin{{Cite episode|title=Sean Hayes/Stranger Things Kids/Sheryl Crow|series=The Ellen DeGeneres Show|series-link=The Ellen DeGeneres Show|date=25 October 2017|season=15|number=37}} (born October 13, 2001) is an American actor. He gained international recognition playing Lucas Sinclair in the Netflix series Stranger Things (2016–present). He began his career playing young Simba in the Broadway musical The Lion King, and then had small roles in television. After finding success in Stranger Things, he appeared in the drama films High Flying Bird (2019) and Concrete Cowboy (2020), the latter his first lead role in a feature film. He also was in the miniseries The New Edition Story (2017) and has had several television voice acting roles.
Personal life
McLaughlin was born on October 13, 2001, in Carmel, New York{{cite web|newspaper=The New York Times|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20220603172353/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/03/style/caleb-mclaughlin-stranger-things-lebron-james.html|archivedate=June 3, 2022|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/03/style/caleb-mclaughlin-stranger-things-lebron-james.html|author=Soloski, Alexis|date=June 3, 2022|title=Caleb McLaughlin of ‘Stranger Things’ Slays Tennis Balls}} to April and Corey McLaughlin. He attended Kent Primary School and later went to George Fischer Middle School for one year, both schools are in Carmel. He studied dance for a year at Happy Feet Dance School in the town and then was a student at Seven Star School of Performing Arts in Brewster Hill, New York, for one year. Next he studied at Harlem School of the Arts in Harlem, New York under Aubrey Lynch, a former Lion King producer.{{cite web|last1=Silva|first1=Tiffany|title=CALEB MCLAUGHLIN IS HAVING A GREAT START TO 2017|url=https://bckonline.com/2017/01/10/caleb-mclaughlin-is-having-a-great-start-to-2017/|website=bckonline.com|access-date=January 21, 2018|date=January 10, 2017|archive-date=August 30, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190830110808/https://bckonline.com/2017/01/10/caleb-mclaughlin-is-having-a-great-start-to-2017/|url-status=live}}{{cite web|last1=Cabiles|first1=Janroe|title=Caleb McLaughlin: Stranger Stages|url=http://statusmagonline.com/features/caleb-mclaughlin-interview-july-2017/|website=statusmagonline.com|access-date=January 21, 2018|date=July 7, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190916102040/http://statusmagonline.com/features/caleb-mclaughlin-interview-july-2017|archive-date=September 16, 2019|url-status=dead}}{{Better source needed|reason=The current source is insufficiently reliable (WP:NOTRS).|date=September 2024}}
Career
McLaughlin's first acting role was as a child in an opera, Lost in the Stars, in Cooperstown, New York, at the Glimmerglass Opera House. His first starring role was on Broadway as young Simba in The Lion King musical (2012–14). He had guest-starring roles in television series including Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Unforgettable, Forever, What Would You Do?, and Shades of Blue. In 2016, McLaughlin's breakthrough role came with his portrayal of Lucas Sinclair in the hit Netflix series Stranger Things (2016–present). In 2017, he was a nominee for the BET YoungStars Award, and in 2018 he won Outstanding Performance by a Youth at the NAACP Image Awards.{{Cite web|last=Riddell|first=Rose|date=2019-06-28|title=Interview: Caleb McLaughlin on 'Stranger Things' and embracing your face.|url=https://www.coupdemainmagazine.com/caleb-mclaughlin/15800|access-date=2020-12-04|website=Coup De Main Magazine|language=en|archive-date=2023-10-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231015014944/https://www.coupdemainmagazine.com/caleb-mclaughlin/15800|url-status=live}} In 2020, McLaughlin made his feature film debut in Concrete Cowboy, co-starring with Idris Elba and Jharrel Jerome.{{Cite web|title=Stranger Things Star Caleb McLaughlin Is All Grown Up In This Gritty Western|url=https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/stranger-things-star-caleb-mclaughlin-194639231.html|access-date=2020-12-04|website=ca.finance.yahoo.com|language=en-CA|archive-date=2020-09-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200925052016/https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/stranger-things-star-caleb-mclaughlin-194639231.html|url-status=dead}}{{Cite web|title=Netflix Picks Up Idris Elba-Caleb McLaughlin Drama 'Concrete Cowboy' (Exclusive) {{!}} Hollywood Reporter|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/netflix-picks-up-idris-elba-drama-concrete-cowboy-exclusive|access-date=2020-12-04|website=www.hollywoodreporter.com|date=26 October 2020|archive-date=2020-10-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201027003544/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/netflix-picks-up-idris-elba-drama-concrete-cowboy-exclusive|url-status=live}} The movie received positive reviews.
In December 2020, McLaughlin was named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 Class of 2021 list.{{Cite web|title=Caleb McLaughlin|url=https://www.forbes.com/profile/caleb-mclaughlin/|access-date=2020-12-04|website=Forbes|language=en|archive-date=2024-09-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240919190318/https://www.forbes.com/profile/caleb-mclaughlin/|url-status=live}} On January 8, 2024, it was announced that McLaughlin was set to feature in a biopic about British-American rap artist 21 Savage, alongside Donald Glover and Savage himself; McLaughlin was expected to play a younger version of 21 Savage.{{cite web |last1=ROSSIGNOL |first1=DERRICK |title=21 Savage And Donald Glover Tease A New Biopic, 'American Dream: The 21 Savage Story,' And It's Coming Soon |url=https://uproxx.com/music/american-dream-the-21-savage-story-donald-glover-tease/ |website=Uproxx |date=8 January 2024 |access-date=8 January 2024 |archive-date=9 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240109020611/https://uproxx.com/music/american-dream-the-21-savage-story-donald-glover-tease/ |url-status=live }} On January 24, Savage revealed that the biopic's announcement was actually a "parody", although he said that "it could be [a real movie] one day".{{cite web|url=https://hiphopdx.com/news/21-savage-american-dream-biopic-parody|title=21 SAVAGE ADMITS 'AMERICAN DREAM' BIOPIC IS A 'PARODY' & ISN'T COMING OUT|website=HipHopDX|last=Singh|first=Karan|date=January 24, 2024|access-date=January 25, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240125180346/https://hiphopdx.com/news/21-savage-american-dream-biopic-parody|archive-date=January 25, 2024|url-status=live}}
Advocacy
McLaughlin has spearheaded the social media campaigns #EmbraceYourFace and #BeYourBiggestFan which promote healthy body image, positivity, and self-esteem. He said, "Feeling good about yourself is healthy. It always starts with you first, before it goes to anyone else... You have to learn to love and appreciate yourself." In 2020, he encouraged people to vote in the 2020 US presidential election, posting a video on his Instagram account with links to Vote.org.{{Cite web|date=2020-10-26|title=Stranger Things' Caleb Mclaughlin Encourages Fans to Vote|url=https://see.news/stranger-things-caleb-mclaughlin-encourages-fans-to-vote/|access-date=2020-12-04|website=Sada El balad|language=en-US|archive-date=2024-09-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240919190317/https://see.news/stranger-things-caleb-mclaughlin-encourages-fans-to-vote|url-status=live}}
McLaughlin has talked about the racism he says that he felt he experienced being the only black actor in the main cast of Stranger Things, saying, "My very first Comic-Con some people didn't stand in my line because I was black... Sometimes overseas you feel the racism, you feel the bigotry. Sometimes it's hard to talk about and for people to understand, but when I was younger it definitely affected me a lot."{{Cite web |title=Caleb McLaughlin on racism from 'Stranger Things' fans: 'It took a toll on me' |url=https://nypost.com/2022/09/28/caleb-mclaughlin-discusses-racism-from-stranger-things-fans/ |access-date=2023-07-21 |website=New York Post |date=28 September 2022 |archive-date=2024-09-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240919190430/https://nypost.com/2022/09/28/caleb-mclaughlin-discusses-racism-from-stranger-things-fans/ |url-status=live }}{{Cite news |title=Stranger Things star Caleb McLaughlin speaks about racism from fans |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-63060225 |access-date=2023-07-21 |publisher=BBC |date=28 September 2022 |archive-date=2024-09-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240919190320/https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-63060225 |url-status=live }}
Filmography
=Film=
=Television=
| class="wikitable sortable"
! Year ! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |
| rowspan="2"|2013
| Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Kid | Episode: "Born Psychopath" |
| Unforgettable
| Older Brother | Episode: "New Hundred" |
| 2014
| Forever | Alejandro | Episode: "The Pugilist Break" |
| rowspan="2" | 2015
| Foster Child | Season 10; Episode 2 |
| Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
| Himself | Episode: "District of Columbia" |
| rowspan="2" | 2016
| Jay-Jay | 3 episodes |
| Blue Bloods
| Tony Lane | Episode: "For the Community" |
| 2016–present
| Main role |
| rowspan="2"|2017
| Ricky Bell (age 13) | 3 episodes |
| Lip Sync Battle
| Himself | Episode: "The Cast of ''Stranger Things" |
| 2018
| Young Gary (voice) | Episode: "Chapter 4" |
| 2018–2021
| Ghost (voice) | 4 episodes |
| 2021
| Trevor Johnson (voice) | 6 episodes |
| 2022
| The Boys Presents: Diabolical | Mo-Slo (voice) | Episode: "An Animated Short Where Pissed-Off Supes Kill Their Parents" |
=Theater=
Music videos
Awards and nominations
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
External links
- {{IMDb name|5160895}}
- {{IBDB name|493505}}
{{NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Performance by a Youth (Series, Special, Television Movie or Limited-series)}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:McLaughlin, Caleb}}
Category:21st-century African-American male actors
Category:21st-century American male actors
Category:African-American male child actors
Category:American male child actors
Category:American male film actors
Category:American male musical theatre actors
Category:American male stage actors
Category:American male television actors