Rules The Stranger Things Kids Had To Follow On Set

Netflix struck gold with "Stranger Things," a show about a group of kids trying to figure out what's really going on in the usually sleepy town of Hawkins, Indiana while contending with all sorts of creatures from the Upside Down, a creepy alternate dimension that exists alongside the human world. Fortunately, they get some help from a psychokinetic girl named Eleven and a few local adults who slowly start to realize that something fishy is indeed going on.

"Stranger Things" introduced the world to a talented crop of young actors who came together to make the show something really special. These up-and-coming child stars learned the ropes of the entertainment industry while working on the hit Netflix series, and this prepared them for the other projects that would inevitably come their way. What's interesting is that they had to follow a list of rules on the set of "Stranger Things" to make sure shooting went as smoothly as possible.

It's common for actors to spend a ton of time in the makeup chair to get ready for the day's work. Even when they're not wearing heavy prosthetics, it's usual for makeup to be applied before shooting. In the case of "Stranger Things," that means actors had to wear makeup that was fitting for the 1980s setting. As such, the kids were all apparently instructed to arrive with clean faces so it was easier for the makeup department to do its thing. And there's one incident that really illustrates why this is essential. 

When "Stranger Things" co-creators Matt and Ross Duffer sat down with NPR in 2016, Ross Duffer recalled something that happened with Eleven actress Millie Bobby Brown: "One day she showed up on set and she [was] just covered head to toe in glitter. And she's like, 'I don't know where this glitter came from.' And it's like I'm not having this problem with any of my adult actors. David Harbour is not coming in covered in glitter."

Anyone who's ever handled a birthday card doused in glitter knows all too well how difficult it can be to get rid of, and that's precisely what they contended with on the "Stranger Things" set on that particular day. Matt Duffer even mentioned how it delayed production for 45 minutes. Of course, Brown was just 11 at the time, so they creators didn't come down too hard on her, but it's safe to assume that glitter was banned from that point onward.

The makers of "Stranger Things" were very impressed with Millie Bobby Brown's acting abilities during that first season, despite her tender age. "Most child actors, they're doing the same thing take after take after take. They're not adjusting their performance to lens or they're not adjusting it to camera position. But Millie absolutely is able to do that," Ross Duffer told NPR. Brown's beyond-her-years acting ability made the co-creators feel comfortable about giving her a special rule to follow: She had to act like an alien.

After "Stranger Things" debuted, Brown spoke with IndieWire about this rule and how the Duffers explained it to her. "They told me that the performance that they wanted me to resemble was 'E.T.' and sort of that relationship between E.T. and the kids," she explained. "I thought that was very interesting, and Matt and Ross were like, 'Basically you're going to be an alien.'"

"Stranger Things" is filled with '80s references only true fans would understand. Some of these are obvious, like the kids wearing Ghostbusters uniforms for a Halloween episode. However, those '80s movies are also baked directly into the show's DNA, and while calling Eleven an alien may sound mean, it was undoubtedly a useful reference point to drive home her relationship with the other characters.

The '80s is well-known for its distinct haircuts, like perms and mullets. Joe Keery's Steve Harrington became known for his luscious locks as much as his character arc throughout "Stranger Things," and, according to reports, he wasn't allowed to get a haircut without permission from the show's top brass. "He does not 'get' haircuts in the way most people get haircuts — by asking for and then paying for them," GQ said in a profile on the actor. "Haircuts simply happen to him, in the way a belly rub happens to a dog on a walk."

This rule is understandable — it would be jarring if Steve just turned up with a buzzcut one day — but that didn't make it any easier for Keery, whose elaborate hairstyle in "Stranger Things" was so hard to handle that he rarely even touched it. That job fell to Sarah Hindsgaul, head of the show's hair department (yes, there was a hair department). Speaking to Mashable, Hindsgaul revealed that she used a technique called "the cat paw" on Keery. "We put products in [his hair] and then you squeeze like a cat," she said. "I get all the texture into it and dry it hard into his hair so we get that wave texture."

Speaking to the Daily Beast in 2022, Keery commented on everyone's fascination with his impressive hair. "It's not something I have control over," he admitted. "It's just internet fodder that's carried over and is now attached to me. I can't really knock it. I have a career, so I have to be like, 'Who cares? I'll take it.'" You can't argue with that — following all those hair rules helped the young actor make a name for himself, and that's the bottom line when you're trying to crack Hollywood.

"Stranger Things" is a hot property, so it makes sense that Netflix would go the extra mile to ensure nothing gets spoiled before a new season airs. Still, leaks have been known to happen, and sometimes in odd ways, like when a Monopoly game spoiled major plot points of "Stranger Things" Season 4. Toys and board games are one thing, but Netflix will reportedly go the extra mile to ensure no one in the cast accidentally spills the beans.

According to Francesca Reale, who joined "Stranger Things" for Season 3 (which fans think is better the second time you watch it) as Heather the lifeguard, the cast have to follow rules about what information they can share when they sit down with the press. "Basically they just sent a massive sheet out to all of us saying what we can and can't say and what we should refrain from talking about," she told CinemaBlend in 2019.

Reale also mentioned how the screeners they receive to check out the finished product early are password protected for extra security, and that Netflix is very serious when it comes to keeping plot points secret. "I'm personally very scared of Netflix on a large scale," she added. "I love them, they keep hiring me, but they're a massive, massive company and I'm always nervous that someone will hear something and it'll somehow get back to Netflix." These scare tactics have seemingly worked well, because, for the most part, the "Stranger Things" kids have done a solid job of keeping details on the down-low.

Of course, fear of leaks and spoilers isn't just limited to the cast and crew of "Stranger Things." On other projects, it might not be unheard of for people to bring family and friends to a set with them just to hang out, but that was strictly against the rules on "Stranger Things" according to Gaten Matarazzo. When Matarazzo, who plays Dustin Henderson, sat down with Michael Rosenbaum for an episode of his "Inside of You" podcast in 2022, he revealed that the set was largely a closed one. "I'm never allowed to bring people on set," he said. "I've been told that it's super under wraps, no one's allowed on set, no one's there."

However, it seems as though this rule may have applied to the kids only, because Matarazzo also revealed that he would sometimes see co-stars speaking to people they had brought to the set. "And it's confusing because I'm like, 'I thought you told me I couldn't,'" he said. He didn't drop any names, so we don't know for sure which co-stars were immune to this rule, but it wouldn't be that shocking to learn that the creators were okay with the adult actors having their friends around while stopping the kids from doing the same.

That might seem like something that would ruffle some feathers among the young cast members, but it was for the best according to Matarazzo. He elaborated: "I love working on that set but nobody would want to go and just [hang out]. It's a long day. It's a 13 hour day doing the same scene over and over again." Some film sets are basically big parties, but that absolutely was not the case for "Stranger Things." 

The 1980s is known for bright and bold fashion, from the prevalence of neon colors to large shoulder pads. People also wore different jeans than we're accustomed to today. Back then, jeans were usually made out of 100% cotton twill and didn't have the same level of elasticity. This made them more durable, but they were also more difficult to maneuver in. It's a lesson the "Stranger Things" kids had to learn the hard way. "Jeans were very tight in a lot of ways in places that you might expect," Joe Keery said during an appearance on "Late Night with Seth Meyers," adding, "It's like you're wearing a baseball glove. Very tight."

One fashion-based rule that the kids seemingly had to follow was to be super careful with certain outfits, because they were actually vintage. According to the show's costume designer Amy Parris, Eleven's colorful jumpsuit is literally one of a kind. "I guess some people thought it was a recreation, but it's 100% real vintage," she told Tudum. "It's a one-off — we didn't have multiples of that. We got really lucky, because you often need [multiples], especially for kids and stunts in water and whatever else she got into that season. But there's only one."

"Strange Things" Season 2 introduced Billy Hargrove (Dacre Montgomery), the increasingly violent older brother of Max Mayfield (Sadie Sink). One might think Billy being as ripped as possible would be an asset for the antagonistic character, but he actually had to tone down his physique to adequately portray Billy. The same year Season 2 came out, Montgomery could also be found in the "Power Rangers" reboot movie. He plays Jason Scott, the Red Ranger, and he definitely has a more sculpted physique in that film.

So why change that? The actor needed to switch things up for "Stranger Things" since most teenagers in the '80s didn't have washboard abs like a Power Ranger. According to Men's Health, Montgomery increased the amount of carbohydrates in his diet and opted for light weight training in order to get a more era-appropriate body. The Australian actor told the mag that Billy is a "chunkier, more muscly version" of himself, so he had no choice but to change up his routine for the role.

Dacre Montgomery may have needed to cut back on working out to get ready for "Stranger Things," but Joe Keery went the other way — he actually got into the best shape of his life. It's just a shame all of Keery's hard work was all for nothing in the end. During Keery's chat on "Late Night with Seth Meyers," he said: "At the beginning of the first season I got the part and talked to the Duffer brothers and they were saying, 'Yeah, he's going to be this kind of jock character,' he was going to be a swimmer. So for like six weeks prior to shooting I was training, doing all this swimming prep."

He especially wanted to look his best because he assumed this would entail Steve Harrington needing to be seen in a Speedo. But then the hammer came down: "We show up the first day and they're like, 'Oh the swimmer? Oh yeah we cut that.' It was the most in-shape I've ever been," Keery said. It's unclear if it was a specific rule set by the Duffers themselves for Keery to get in good shape to play a swimmer. If nothing else, it was a self-imposed rule so that Keery could feel confident strutting his stuff poolside.

Unlike the 1980s, most kids own a cell phone these days, but the young stars of "Stranger Things" reportedly weren't allowed to have them set. Once they left the set, they were free to get back to their group chats — and the younger "Stranger Things" kids had their own dedicated one separate from the older kids as a kind of self-imposed rule. When Joe Keery and Maya Hawke (Robin Buckley) were interviewed by Access Hollywood around the time that Season 3 came out, they said that they are "too old" to be in the group chat with the younger stars.

Access Hollywood posed that same group chat question to Natalia Dyer and Charlie Heaton, who play Nancy Wheeler and Jonathan Byers, respectively. Dyer also confirmed that the younger kids had their own ongoing conversation, adding: "I don't know what goes on in that group chat." But the older actors didn't have one — at least, not at that time. 

Netflix's Tudum spoke with Dyer a few years later in 2022, and it would appear that the four main older kids on the show — Dyer, Keery, Hawke, and Heaton — had finally gotten their own group chat going by then. She explained, "We actually have a text thread that talks [about fans shipping Nancy and Robin] a bit. We send each other memes of things regarding that ship, which is funny."

The younger stars of "Stranger Things" also made their own rules to help them navigate fame after the show blew up, even if these rules were a little tongue-in-cheek. Millie Bobby Brown, Finn Wolfhard, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, and Noah Schnapp did a fun video with Entertainment Weekly focusing on the rules people have to follow if they want to join their friend group. Many of the rules are "Stranger Things"-centric, like how a great friend should never stop looking for someone kidnapped by a Demogorgon.

They also gave a shout-out to the dearly departed Barb (Shannon Purser) and had a rule about never leaving a friend by themselves near a pool. It's a fun interview, though it feels like a missed opportunity to only have 10 rules instead of 11 (you know, like Eleven, the character). Nonetheless, the video's a neat time capsule of when these actors were just kids getting their footing in Hollywood. Many of them have gone on to star in various movies and other TV series, and learning the ropes on the "Stranger Things" set will no doubt help them in the years to come.

One thing's for sure, though — no matter what they do, they will always be remembered for their iconic roles in Netflix's nostalgic juggernaut. Who is your favorite among the bunch? We've ranked every "Stranger Things" character by likability.