Caleb McLaughlin (born October 13, 2001) is an American actor and singer. He is known for playing Lucas Sinclair in the Netflix series Stranger Things. McLaughlin began his career when he appeared in an opera called Lost in the Stars in Cooperstown, New York at the Glimmerglass Opera House.He then played on the Broadway stage as Young Simba in the musical The Lion King. In 2017, McLaughlin appeared in the BET miniseries The New Edition Story as young Ricky Bell.
Early life
McLaughlin grew up in Carmel, New York. He attended Kent Primary School and later attended George Fischer Middle School for one year. He studied dance for a year at Happy Feet Dance School in Carmel, New York and then at The Harlem School of the Arts under Aubrey Lynch, former Lion King producer.
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|
| 2012 | Noah Dreams of Origami Fortunes | Noah | Short film |
| 2019 | High Flying Bird | Darius Eepraiseius calibius | |
| 2020 | Concrete Cowboys | Cole | Filming |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|
| 2013 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Kid | Episode: "Born Psychopath" |
| Unforgettable | Older Brother | Episode: "New Hundred" |
| 2014 | Forever | Alejandro | Episode: "The Pugilist Break" |
| 2015 | What Would You Do? | Caleb/Secret Actor | Episode 2 |
| 2016 | Shades of Blue | Jay-Jay | 3 episodes |
| 2016 | Stranger Things | Lucas Sinclair | Main Character |
| 2016 | Blue Bloods | Tony Lane | Episode: "For the Community" |
| 2017 | The New Edition Story | Ricky Bell (age 10-15) | 3 episodes |
| Lip Sync Battle | Caleb | Episode: "The Cast of Stranger Things" |
| 2018 | Final Space | Young Gary (voice) | Episode: "Chapter 4" |
| Summer Camp Island | Ghost (voice) | Episode: "Ghost the Boy" |
Web series
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|
| 2019 | Brawl with the Stars | Himself | Episode: "Brawl with the Stars (feat. Finn Wolfhard and Caleb McLaughlin)" |
Music videos
| Year | Title | Artist | Notes |
|---|
| 2017 | Jimmy Fallon's Golden Globes 2017 Opening | Jimmy Fallon | |
| Santa's Coming For Us | Sia | |
Stage
| Year | Title | Role | Location |
|---|
| 2012–14 | The Lion King | Young Simba | Minskoff Theatre, Broadway |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
|---|
| 2017 | Young Artist Awards | Best Performance in a Digital TV Series or Film – Teen Actor | Stranger Things | Nominated | |
| 2017 | Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series | Won | |
| 2017 | BET Awards | YoungStars Award | Nominated | |
| 2018 | NAACP Image Awards | Outstanding Performance by a Youth (Series, Special, Television Movie or Limited Series) | Won | |
| 2018 | Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series | Nominated | |
| 2018 | MTV Movie & TV Awards | Best On-Screen Team | Nominated | |
| 2019 | Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards | Favorite Male TV Star | Nominated | |
| 2019 | Teen Choice Awards | Choice Summer TV Actor | Nominated | |
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