Vancouver actor Finn Wolfhard, star of the new Netflix series "Stranger Things" is photographed in Toronto on Tuesday, July 17, 2016. The creepy story in Netflix's new series "Stranger Things" is inspired by real-life events, says cast member Finn Wolfhard. The 13-year-old plays one of many townsfolk caught up in sci-fi/supernatural mysteries that unfold inside and outside of a government lab in Hawkins, Ind., in 1983. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young

TORONTO - Vancouver actor Finn Wolfhard is only 13 but he's all about the '80s these days.

A lead cast member of Netflix's buzzy retro horror series "Stranger Things," he plays one of many townsfolk caught up in supernatural events in Hawkins, Ind., in 1983.

He's also shooting an adaptation of Stephen King's 1986 horror novel "It."

"I'm noticing a pattern here: '80s to '80s," Wolfhard says with a laugh.

Another pattern in his career? All things creepy.

"I'm always interested in horror and the supernatural," says the young actor, whose other credits include the TV series "Supernatural" and "The 100."

"It's intriguing to me, when I see a horror script — or something like that — that's actually original.

"I think that's why I love 'Stranger Things,' because it's not just horror, it's everything, and when they use horror, it's right."

"Stranger Things" stars Winona Ryder as a single mother desperately following otherworldly clues in hopes that she'll find her missing son.

Wolfhard's character is a friend of the missing boy and believes a strange young girl with a buzz cut and telekinetic powers, played by Millie Bobby Brown, may have some answers.

Matt and Ross Duffer created, directed and wrote the show, which is getting much attention for its scary story and nostalgic elements that borrow from cheesy '80s flicks. Among the executive producers is Montreal native Shawn Levy, who also directed two episodes.

To prepare for the role, Wolfhard watched '80s classics including "The Goonies" and "Stand By Me." He also had to learn how to double-ride on a banana bike, which was popular in the '80s.

"We wanted to live there," he says of the show's time-warped set in Atlanta. "It was insane. The '80s were such a fun time and such a simpler time, in that sense."

Meanwhile, Brown had to shave her head.

"She had really long hair," says Wolfhard, "and Ross came up to her in the audition ... and he went up to her hair and just looked at her and then ... put (his hand) up to her hair and just went, 'Bzzzzz.'

"She was like, 'Whaa?' He was like, 'You'll see. You're going to get your head shaved.' ... Her mom was like, 'No, please!'"

Wolfhard and his castmates — who also include Gaten Matarazzo and Caleb McLaughlin as the missing boy's other close friends — "knew nothing" about where the story was heading during shooting.

"As we were shooting, they would write the scripts," he says. "They'd have the overall idea but they didn't have the full scripts written out, so it would always be like, 'What happens in episode seven? Come on, just show us episode seven!'

"I think everyone was on edge because anything could happen, I guess, in that script," he adds.

Writing on the fly allowed writers to incorporate Matarazzo's cleidocranial dysplasia condition into his character.

Wolfhard says Matarazzo was born without a collarbone, which affected the growth of his front teeth. In the series, his lack of front teeth is acknowledged by other characters. But he's since had surgery to pull the teeth down.

"Now Gaten has perfect pearly whites on the top," says Wolfhard.

As Wolfhard awaits word on whether there will be a second season, he's shooting "It" in Toronto.

His character is Richie, "the very goofy kind of comic relief that everyone is annoyed with."

"I haven't read the book yet," he says. "The only thing I really know is the script, and I think that's very cool to get a raw take on it, I guess."

News from © The Canadian Press, 2016