The 1990s director Finn Wolfhard called “one of the best ever”
At 23 years old, it’s safe to say Finn Wolfhard has the world at his feet.
Playing a starring role in one of television’s most culturally and commercially successful shows is one thing, but to then back it up with two solo albums that perfectly pivot you into future rock icon status is another. Seemingly, Wolfhard has a future in both mediums that promises collaboration with anyone and everyone should he so please.
With the latter, he made it relatively clear in his Far Out cover story that independence is much needed. Given that much of his adolescence has existed under the stewardship of more experienced members of the television industry, there was clearly a musical longing to break out on his own. His sophomore record, Fire From The Hip, was self-written and produced, and ultimately, bore the sound of Wolfhard coming of age.
But of course, when the visual world welcomes him back, collaboration will be required. Really, there is only so much you can do on your own in either television or film, so Wolfhard’s return to such will be much anticipated, with the world wondering who it will be that he works with for the very first time since leaving the Stranger Things alumni.
There will no doubt be a string of directors, producers and actors keen to work with such hot property, but that feels less interesting to analyse than the reverse. Who is it that Wolfhard, the actor, is so keen to work with, now that he’s going at it alone?
The understated obscurity of his disposition lends him to a string of cinematic archetypes. Surely there’s a space for him in the symmetrical worlds of Wes Anderson? Or maybe his rock and roll could blend with the big screen on a future Richard Linklater sleeper hit? There are seemingly endless possibilities for Wolfhard, but only one that would scratch a personal itch.
There is one director who exists above the rest for him, and that’s Paul Thomas Anderson. The Oscar winner isn’t just someone Wolfhard wants to work with from an acting perspective, but someone who provides him the most reading material, with the actor even telling Far Out that more than any books available, it’s his scripts he finds himself reading: “I read a lot of screenplays because I’m a big film fan. So I love Paul Thomas Anderson’s scripts. I think he’s amazing, one of the best ever.”
It’s a public declaration of love that might just bag him a future role. With Wolfhard proving that his acting chops can traverse both the intimate and action on Stranger Things, and his music back catalogue overtly celebrating his love for the arthouse and alternative, there is a string of different Anderson roles he could potentially play.
As a director who still switches between arthouse romances and big-budget action dramas, the goalposts for his future collaborations with actors are always far-reaching and subject to few structures, and with Wolfhard on the rise, it could just be the perfect combination.
