Charlie Heaton: the actor who plays Jonathan Byers in Stranger Things
Actors · Charlie Heaton · Jonathan Byers
Charlie Heaton arrived in Hawkins by an unexpected path: a rock drummer in London, he had only played in a few English series episodes when he landed Jonathan Byers, the quiet older brother with the camera. Portrait of one of the rare British actors in the cast.
The essentials
- Born: February 6, 1994, Leeds, England (raised in Bridlington)
- Role: Jonathan Byers, seasons 1 to 5
- Before: drummer of the band Comanechi
- On film: Marrowbone, The New Mutants, No Future
Contents
Charlie Heaton, a drummer from London
Charlie Heaton grows up in Yorkshire, leaves for London at sixteen and becomes the drummer of the noise-rock band Comanechi, with which he tours Europe. The move into acting happens by chance, through commercials and a music video, then a few British series episodes: DCI Banks, Vera, Casualty. He auditions for season 1 in 2015, with an American accent worked up for the occasion.
Jonathan Byers, as written, is the lonely teenager through and through: a job after school, a camera, a darkroom, and a brother to find.
The Byers T-shirt, for big brothers.
In the shopMen's 3/4-sleeve baseball Will Byers T-shirt44,90 €See the product
Jonathan, the older brother
Jonathan is the character of loyalty: he looks for Will with his mother when nobody believes it, he photographs what he should not, he fights Steve then fights at his side. The show pairs him with Nancy from Season 1 and with Argyle in Season 4, which for the first time gives him comic scenes. Charlie Heaton plays it all with restraint, with the look of a boy who learned to stay quiet.
The character is also the one whose future is the most uncertain in the last seasons: college turned down, the lie to Nancy, smoking with Argyle. Season 5 decides.
The cameraJonathan uses an 80s film SLR and develops his own prints. The Season 1 darkroom, where the silhouette of the Demogorgon appears behind Barb, is one of the first images of the monster.
Marrowbone and The New Mutants
| Year | Film | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Shut In | Stephen |
| 2017 | Marrowbone | Billy Marrowbone |
| 2020 | The New Mutants | Sam Guthrie / Cannonball |
| 2021 | No Future | Will |
| 2021 | The Souvenir Part II | Jim |
| 2025 | Billy Knight | His first role shot after the end of the show |
Marrowbone, a Spanish gothic horror film shot in English, and The New Mutants, the cursed Marvel production released two years late, are his most-seen roles outside the show. No Future, a drama about addiction, earns him his best reviews.
With Natalia Dyer
Charlie Heaton has been with Natalia Dyer, his on-screen partner, since the first seasons. He is also the father of a son born in 2014, before the show, from a previous relationship, which he rarely talks about. He has kept making music in parallel, and composes for personal projects.
Jonathan, season by season
| Season | What Jonathan lives through |
|---|---|
| 1 | Looks for Will with Joyce, photographs Nancy, faces the Demogorgon with her |
| 2 | Investigates with Nancy into Barb's death, brings down the lab |
| 3 | Intern at the Hawkins Post, discovers the possessed with Nancy |
| 4 | Exiled in California, road trip with Argyle, Will, and Mike |
| 5 | Back in Hawkins for the final battle |
Five seasons, and almost never a scene alone: Jonathan is always someone's partner, his mother, Nancy, Argyle. That is what makes the character discreet, and what makes his rare breaking moments, the fight with Steve, the argument with Nancy, hit so hard.
Markers
| Year | Step |
|---|---|
| 1994 | Birth in Leeds, childhood in Bridlington |
| 2010 | Departure for London, Comanechi drummer |
| 2015 | Jonathan's casting on video |
| 2017 | Marrowbone; the relationship with Natalia Dyer becomes public |
| 2020 | The New Mutants |
| 2022 | Season 4: the road trip with Argyle |
| 2025 | End of the show |
The Jonathan figure, camera in hand.
In the shopLego Jonathan Byers mini figure14,90 €See the product
What you know less about him
Charlie Heaton was born in Leeds and grew up with his mother in social housing in Bridlington, on the Yorkshire coast. His older sister, Levi, is an actress and musician. Having left for London at sixteen, he was the drummer of several bands before Comanechi, with which he opened for others, released an album in 2013 and toured for eighteen months, then Half Loon. With no acting training, he started with extra work and commercials to supplement his musician's income, while working behind a bar.
He never gave up the drums: in 2024, you can hear him on a track by the punk band Luxury Apartments. An Arsenal supporter since he arrived in London, he was also the subject of a song, “Charlie,” written in 2016 by friends from the band Skinny Lister.
Jonathan in 1987: the rival who catches up
The last season settles Jonathan's place in two scenes. The first is the breakup with Nancy, in the melting room: he had told Murray, in episode 3, about his plan to propose; in episode 6, he asks her instead not to marry him, and they part without a fight. The second is in the finale, on the radio tower: Steve, his old rival, almost falls into the void, and it is Jonathan who catches him.
Between the two, Jonathan has found his place again with Will: he is the one Joyce sends on the crawl in his little brother's place, and it is with his mother and Mike that he shares the happy memories Will runs through at the moment of discovering his power. In spring 1989, he is one of the four who meet at the radio station.
After the show: Peaky Blinders
Charlie Heaton shot his first post-Hawkins role in an independent drama, Billy Knight, released in 2025. In April 2026, an announcement made much more noise: he will take up the role of Charles Shelby, Tommy Shelby's son, in the series that will continue Peaky Blinders ten years after the film The Immortal Man. For an actor from Yorkshire who spent ten years playing an American, it is a return home.
Jonathan Byers, for his part, will stay the quiet older brother, camera around his neck, the one who believed Joyce when nobody believed her, in November 1983.
Five Jonathan scenes to rewatch
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The darkroom, 1983
On a photo of Steve's party, a silhouette behind Barb: the first image of the Demogorgon.
-
The trapped house, 1983
With Nancy, nails, gasoline, and a bat: the first fight against the monster.
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At Murray's, 1984
The tape that will bring down the lab, and the first night with Nancy.
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The van, 1986
At the wheel, he understands that Will is talking about himself when he describes Eleven's feelings.
-
L'antenne, 1987
Steve slips; Jonathan catches him.
A stop at the shop before the darkroom.
In the shopWill Byers jacket66,90 €See the product
TakeawayBorn in 1994 in England, a drummer before he was an actor. Jonathan Byers in all five seasons, the older brother with the camera. On film: Marrowbone, The New Mutants, No Future. In a relationship with Natalia Dyer, his Nancy on screen.
Frequently asked questions
Who plays Jonathan Byers?
Charlie Heaton, English actor and musician born in 1994, across the five seasons.
Is Charlie Heaton American?
No, he is British, from Yorkshire. He works on his American accent for the role.
In which films does Charlie Heaton act?
Shut In, Marrowbone, The New Mutants (Cannonball), No Future, The Souvenir Part II, Billy Knight.
Is Charlie Heaton with Natalia Dyer?
Yes, since the show's first seasons.
Does Charlie Heaton still play music?
Yes: a former drummer in Comanechi and Half Loon, you hear him on drums on a Luxury Apartments track in 2024.
Is Charlie Heaton going to play in Peaky Blinders?
Yes: announced in April 2026 in the role of Charles Shelby, Tommy's son, in the series that follows the film The Immortal Man.