Finn Wolfhard on being his own boss and how Stranger Things influenced his sophomore album
The actor and musician reveals which song from new album Fire from the Hip was inspired by the end of Stranger Things and what a day spent in the studio with his friends looks like.
Finn Wolfhard is the last person you’d expect to suffer from stage fright. The American actor helmed one of the most influential shows of the last decade, Netflix’s 80s supernatural hit Stranger Things. He stepped into the limelight at the age of 13, leading the show through five seasons as one of its unruly protagonists, Mike Wheeler. During that time, he made his directorial debut with the summer camp slasher Hell of a Summer, serving as the project’s co-writer and star too. He even released his debut album Happy Birthday in 2025. But with the arrival of Fire from the Hip, his sophomore album, he’s marking the latest chapter in his career as the most introspective to date, focusing on the complex emotions that don’t surface in front of the cameras.
“I have a complicated relationship with performing live because sometimes it’s literally the best thing in the world and sometimes it’s the scariest, most terrifying thing ever,” confirms the 23-year-old. That duality forms the foundation of Finn’s latest album. The album’s cover sets the tone. Laid against a marshmallow pink frame, Finn can be seen in a Western duel with himself, reminiscent of a scene from Stanley Kubrick’s Barry Lyndon. The internal battle depicted trickles into each song as Tunnels offers an abstract exploration of saying goodbye to Stranger Things and I’ll Let You Finish pokes at the universal influence of pop culture. Jovial guitar strums and Finn’s rock-tinged vocals combine to evoke a youthful, coming-of-age spirit, offering a sun-soaked, reflective listen.
His stage fright isn’t strong enough to quell his ambition, as the multi-faceted artist will be taking the album on tour across America for the remainder of the year. It’s a way for him to connect with his legions of fans, and a healthy dose of “exposure therapy” in tandem. And, with plenty of footage captured of Finn and his friends in the studio, a possible ‘making of’ documentary could follow.
On the week of the album’s release, Finn Wolfhard joined EE72 to chat the joys of being his own boss and answered an important question: which side of himself emerged victorious in the emotional duel that Fire from the Hip explores?
You start touring next week. Do you enjoy touring?
I have a complicated relationship with performing live because sometimes it’s literally the best thing in the world and sometimes it’s the scariest, most terrifying thing ever. It’s weird trying to grapple with the middle ground of that. It’s nice for me because I get to work through those things. It’s exposure therapy.
Your sophomore album is out in a few days. How are you feeling?
Dude, I feel good. I’ve been anticipating it coming out for a long time because the last record had such a slow turnaround. I made that record, and then I had to wait a year and a half because I wanted to tour it and do press for it, but I was still shooting Stranger Things. While I was waiting, I wrote a lot of the songs on this record. In a way, I’ve been waiting to put this out since the last one came out.
What’s your earliest musical memory?
I remember listening to The Beatles and my brain switched on to loving music. For most people who are into music, The Beatles are part of their musical DNA because they’re the most influential band ever. I remember my mom playing Feist and The Ramones in the car. Eventually, I formed my own relationship with music and having the internet at my disposal meant I could read interviews with my favourite musicians and see who they were listening to.
You’ve previously said you had a lot of fun creating this album with your friends. What does a day in the studio with them look like?
With this album, we started at 10:30 in the morning. We’d get a bunch of coffee, listen to a bunch of demos, and then decide what we were going to work on. There’s usually a whiteboard, and I would go up to it and write down songs or ideas. Sometimes, honestly, we’d just fuck around. My friend Hudson, who was there documenting the whole thing, has a lot of footage of me in the control room doing a bit and then my friend Andrew coming up to me and being like, ‘Shut the fuck up. Let’s record.’ I think the footage will be out at some point. We’d do that and record all day. Then we’d go and eat dinner and do it all again the next day. It’s pretty fun.
Why was Fire from the Hip the right title for this project?
I liked Fire from the Hip stylistically, but it was also this ballsy phrase. To me, Fire from the Hip is weirdly confident, but there’s also impulsivity in it. In that impulsivity, there can be things that you regret or things that you’re confident about. There are good impulses and bad ones. It got me thinking about the good and bad impulses I have. When it comes to creative or social impulses, they’re working against each other in a lot of ways. It’s interesting that one night I can be confident on a stage, and then I’m terrified to order coffee the next. It’s different parts of my personality shining through.
FIRE FROM THE HIP ARTWORK AND THE COMMON SIDE EFFECTS TOUR POSTER
And is the album cover a physical representation of that internal battle with yourself?
Yes. It took inspiration from the film Barry Lyndon. There’s a great duel in it, but also I wanted it to be cheeky and fun.
Is there a version of yourself that you think has emerged victorious through the making of this album?
I’ll always have a confident side of myself, and I’ll always have a side of myself that is more worried or anxious. It’s a daily duel. Some days the confident side comes out swinging, or maybe they’re both there, but the worried side has less control. I guess it depends. With the record coming out and the tour happening, maybe there’s a side of myself that is winning overall. If I totally gave in to the side of myself that wasn’t confident, I wouldn’t be on this call with you and wouldn’t have made the record. You have to have both sides of the same coin to get you out of bed.
You’re a talented musician, actor and director. Creativity is a huge part of your life. What’s fuelling your creativity currently?
In this new chapter of my life, with Stranger Things being over, I have more time for the stuff that I want to do, and not be at the helm of a big-scale production. I’m generally excited about the prospect of expressing myself in the way I want and about being my own boss for a little bit. It’s been nice for me and has been motivating me when it comes to making music.
In this new chapter of my life, with Stranger Things being over, I have more time for the stuff that I want to do, and not be at the helm of a big-scale production. I’m generally excited about the prospect of expressing myself in the way I want and about being my own boss for a little bit.
FINN WOLFHARD
Stranger Things ending must have been a huge shift for you. How has that been and how, if at all, has it informed the creation of this album?
There’s a song called Tunnels that’s about me coming to terms with that show being over. I lived in a neighbourhood that only had two ways out. One was the long way, and one was through a tunnel. It was about the idea of leaving something behind, being lost, but still having support around you and those relationships. It definitely was super influential on me and will continue to be.
There’s a song called Tunnels that’s about me coming to terms with that show being over…It was about the idea of leaving something behind, being lost, but still having support around you and those relationships. It definitely was super influential on me and will continue to be.
FINN WOLFHARD
Do you see all the facets of your creativity intersecting at some point?
I think eventually I’ll do a movie where I direct and I’ll help with the score. I think that’s something that I’ve always been really interested in doing. I’m not in any rush. I really want to keep honing things and keep learning. Even though I’ve been a part of a lot of different things, at the end of the day, I look at my life as one where I’m constantly learning until the day I die. I’m just trying to learn as much as I can.
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