Caleb Reginald McLaughlin (born October 13, 2001) is an American actor. He gained international recognition playing Lucas Sinclair in the Netflix series Stranger Things (2016–2025). 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.
Early life and education Caleb Reginald McLaughlin was born on October 13, 2001. He grew up in Carmel, New York. He has a younger sister named Caitlyn, who is also an actress. McLaughlin attended Kent Primary School and later went to George Fischer Middle School for one year. He studied dance for a year at Happy Feet Dance School and then was a student at Seven Star School of Performing Arts in Brewster, New York, for one year. He later studied at Harlem School of the Arts in Harlem, New York under Aubrey Lynch, a former Lion King producer. He is African-American.
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 (2016–2025). 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 positive 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".
Personal life
McLaughlin has talked about the racism 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."
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.
Acting credits
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 The Book of Clarence Dirty Zeke 2024 The Deliverance Nathaniel "Nate" Jackson 2026 Goat Will Harris Voice TBA Filming
Television Year Title Role Notes2013 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? Foster Child Season 10; Episode 2 Last Week Tonight with John Oliver Himself Season 2; Episode 23: "Washington D.C. voting rights and statehood movement" 2016 Shades of Blue Jay-Jay 3 episodes Blue Bloods Tony Lane Episode: "For the Community" 2016–2025 Stranger Things Lucas Sinclair Main role2017 The New Edition Story Ricky Bell (age 13) 3 episodes 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" 2026 Saturday Night Live Himself (cameo), Lucas Sinclair Episode: "Finn Wolfhard/ASAP Rocky"
Theater Year Title Role Venue Notes 2012, 2016Lost in the StarsAlexGlimmerglass Festival, Washington National Opera 2012–14 The Lion King Young Simba Minskoff TheatreBroadway replacement 2015 The Painted Rocks at Revolver Creek Bokkie Pershing Square Signature CenterOff-Broadway
Music videos Year Title Artist 2012"Still Standing" (feat. Jill Scott)Pharoche Monch2017"Santa's Coming for Us"Sia2021"Neighborhood"Caleb McLaughlin2022"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 2017 Screen Actors Guild Awards Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series 2017 BET Awards YoungStars Award 2018 NAACP Image Awards Outstanding Performance by a Youth (Series, Special, Television Movie or Limited Series) 2018 Screen Actors Guild Awards Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series 2018 MTV Movie & TV Awards Best On-Screen Team (with Gaten Matarazzo, Finn Wolfhard, Noah Schnapp and Sadie Sink) 2019Nickelodeon Kids' Choice AwardsFavorite Male TV Star2019Teen Choice AwardsChoice Summer TV Actor 2020 Screen Actors Guild Awards Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series 2021 Black Reel Awards Outstanding Male Breakthrough PerformanceConcrete Cowboy 2023 NAACP Image Awards NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama SeriesStranger Things 2026 NAACP Image Awards NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series Stranger Things References
External links