Caleb McLaughlin (born October 13, 2001)[1] is an American actor. He began his career on the Broadway stage as Young Simba in the musical The Lion King. He plays Lucas Sinclair in the Netflix series Stranger Things.[2] In 2017, McLaughlin appeared in the BET miniseries The New Edition Story as Ricky Bell. Early life McLaughlin grew up in Carmel, a small town in suburban New York.[3] He attended Kent Primary School and later attended George Fischer Middle School for one year. After fifth grade, McLaughlin moved to New York City.[citation needed] 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.[4][5] Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes 2012 Noah Dreams of Origami Fortunes Noah Short film[6] 2019 High Flying Bird Darius Television Year Title Role Notes 2013 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Boy Episode: "Born Psychopath" 2013 Unforgettable Older Brother Episode: "New Hundred" 2014 Forever Alejandro Episode: "The Pugilist Break" 2015 What Would You Do? Caleb Episode 2 2016 Shades of Blue Jay-Jay 3 episodes 2016–present Stranger Things Lucas Sinclair Main role; 17 episodes 2016 Blue Bloods Tone Lane Episode: "For the Community" 2017 The New Edition Story Ricky Bell (age 10-15) 3 episodes 2018 Final Space Young Gary (voice) Episode: "Chapter 4" 2018 Summer Camp Island Ghost (voice) Episode: "Ghost the Boy" Music videos 2017 – "Jimmy Fallon's Golden Globes 2017 Opening" – Jimmy Fallon 2017 – "Santa's Coming for Us" – Sia Stage Year Title Role Location 2012–14 The Lion King Young Simba Minskoff Theatre, Broadway[7][8] 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 [9] 2017 Screen Actors Guild Awards Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series Won [10] 2017 BET Awards YoungStars Award Nominated [11] 2018 NAACP Image Awards Outstanding Performance by a Youth (Series, Special, Television Movie or Limited Series) Won [12] 2018 Screen Actors Guild Awards Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series Nominated [13] 2018 MTV Movie & TV Awards Best On-Screen Team (with Gaten Matarazzo, Finn Wolfhard, Noah Schnapp and Sadie Sink) Nominated [14] References Terry, Sarah (October 13, 2016). "The kids of "Stranger Things" wishing Caleb McLaughlin (Lucas) a happy birthday is pure #friendshipgoals". HelloGiggles. Andreeva, Nellie (August 20, 2015). "Duffer Bros. Netflix Supernatural Drama Series Sets Young Cast, Gets Title". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 24, 2015. "Caleb McLaughlin Biography, Celebrity Facts and Awards". TV Guide. August 20, 2015. Retrieved August 24, 2015. Silva, Tiffany (January 10, 2017). "CALEB MCLAUGHLIN IS HAVING A GREAT START TO 2017". bckonline.com. Retrieved January 21, 2018. Cabiles, Janroe (July 7, 2017). "Caleb McLaughlin: Stranger Stages". statusmagonline.com. Retrieved January 21, 2018. Dunmore, Royce. "Noah Dreams of Origami Fortunes (2012)". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved September 19, 2016. Velez, Ali (August 2, 2016). "We Need To Talk About The Musical Talents Of The Kids From "Stranger Things"". BuzzFeed. Retrieved September 19, 2016. "Caleb McLaughlin". Playbill. Retrieved September 19, 2016. "38th Annual Awards". Young Artist Association. Archived from the original on January 7, 2018. Retrieved January 7, 2018. Nolfi, Joely (14 December 2016). "SAG Awards nominations 2017: See the full list". Entertainment Weekly. "Youngstars Award". BET Awards 2017. June 25, 2017. "Early winners at the 49th NAACP Image Awards". The Washington Post. The Washington Post. 15 January 2018. Retrieved 16 January 2018. Gonzalez, Sandra (17 January 2018). "The full list of the 2018 SAG Awards nominees". CNN. CNN. Retrieved 24 January 2018. Nordyke, Kimberly (May 3, 2018). "MTV Movie & TV Awards: 'Black Panther,' 'Stranger Things' Top Nominations". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on May 3, 2018. Retrieved May 3, 2018.