# Caleb McLaughlin

Caleb Reginald McLaughlin (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 in Carmel, New York. 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, former Lion King producer.

## 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. In 2020, McLaughlin made his feature film debut in Concrete Cowboy, co-starring with Idris Elba and Jharrel Jerome. The movie received mixed reviews.
In December 2020, McLaughlin was named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 Class of 2021 list. 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. 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".

## 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.
McLaughlin has talked about the microaggressions he says that 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."

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2012 | Noah Dreams of Origami Fortunes | Noah | Short film |
| 2019 | High Flying Bird | Darius | |
| 2020 | Concrete Cowboy | Coltrane “Cole” | |
| 2023 | Shooting Stars | Dru Joyce III | |
| 2023 | The Book of Clarence | Dirty Zeke | |
| 2024 | The Deliverance | Nathaniel "Nate" Jackson | |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2013 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Kid | Episode: "Born Psychopath" |
| 2013 | Unforgettable | Older Brother | Episode: "New Hundred" |
| 2014 | Forever | Alejandro | Episode: "The Pugilist Break" |
| 2015 | What Would You Do? | Foster Child | Season 10; Episode 2 |
| 2015 | Last Week Tonight with John Oliver | Himself | Episode: "District of Columbia" |
| 2016 | Shades of Blue | Jay-Jay | 3 episodes |
| 2016 | Blue Bloods | Tony Lane | Episode: "For the Community" |
| 2016–present | Stranger Things | Lucas Sinclair | Main role |
| 2017 | The New Edition Story | Ricky Bell (age 13) | 3 episodes |
| 2017 | Lip Sync Battle | Himself | Episode: "The Cast of Stranger Things" |
| 2018 | Final Space | Young Gary (voice) | Episode: "Chapter 4" |
| 2018–2021 | Summer Camp Island | Ghost (voice) | 4 episodes |
| 2021 | Ultra City Smiths | 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

| Year | Title | Role | Venue | Notes |
| 2012, 2016 | Lost in the Stars | Alex | Glimmerglass Festival, Washington National Opera | |
| 2012–14 | The Lion King | Young Simba | Minskoff Theatre | Broadway replacement |
| 2015 | The Painted Rocks at Revolver Creek | Bokkie | Pershing Square Signature Center | Off-Broadway |

## Music videos

| Year | Title | Artist |
| 2012 | "Still Standing" (feat. Jill Scott) | Pharoche Monch |
| 2017 | "Santa's Coming For Us" | Sia |
| 2021 | “Neighborhood” | Caleb Mclaughlin |
| 2022 | “Soul Travel” | Caleb Mclaughlin |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result |
| 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 | Stranger Things | Won |
| 2017 | BET Awards | YoungStars Award | Stranger Things | Nominated |
| 2018 | NAACP Image Awards | Outstanding Performance by a Youth (Series, Special, Television Movie or Limited Series) | Stranger Things | Won |
| 2018 | Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series | Stranger Things | Nominated |
| 2018 | MTV Movie & TV Awards | Best On-Screen Team (with Gaten Matarazzo, Finn Wolfhard, Noah Schnapp and Sadie Sink) | Stranger Things | Nominated |
| 2019 | Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards | Favorite Male TV Star | Stranger Things | Nominated |
| 2019 | Teen Choice Awards | Choice Summer TV Actor | Stranger Things | Nominated |
| 2020 | Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series | Stranger Things | Nominated |
| 2021 | Black Reel Awards | Outstanding Male Breakthrough Performance | Concrete Cowboy | Nominated |