Instagram/@finnwolfhardofficial
Finn Wolfhard gave us a cute snippet of his personal history: the concert that started his parents’ love affair and thus his very birth. The ‘Stranger Things’ actor went over to social media and shared a heartfelt and nostalgic letter about his own family association with one The Replacements, the iconic punk band. Such a breathtaking peek behind his own birth merges culture with sweet family history that many will speak about. Finn Wolfhard is best known for his acclaimed role of Mike Wheeler in worldwide Sensations Stranger Things.
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The story Wolfhard shared went: “One of my parents’ first dates was to a Replacements concert. Then I was born!” The post was sealed with lyrics credited to Paul Westerberg himself of The Replacements, “As Westerberg once said ‘Let’s let em down.’” He rarely allows pop culture history to mingle with alternative rock and correlate a snippet of his own beginnings.
To say that not so secretly spilled his lovely little story behind the pop culture association broke the viewers’ hearts forever. One viewer felt moved by the words “Then I was born!!” saying, “I’M CRYING 😭 so proud of you Finn.” This speaks to how a very fine personal detail endears a star to the conflicting public, providing Finn with a relatable backdrop of a family-worthy story.
Another fan took it for just sheer coolness, exclaiming, “WOAAAH THE REPLACEMENTS??? so sick!!” That kind of energy only highlights how immortal the band is since the ’80s and how this beautiful link of Finn really places his Gen Z character as having an old-school cache of downright cool. This slightly tilts the scale for both the music world and the movie buffs’ world.
Then there were those earnest comments-turned-advice that said: “Don’t fuck this up bro, this isn’t a fun little horror movie, this band means so much to ppl in the music community.” Such a comment is wonderful because it well outlines the weight of responsibility that comes with working with so cherished a cultural touchstone; of that for many, The Replacements mean so much more than just ‘fun shadow in the past.’
The funniest, most-relatable one was from filmmaker Greg Mottola: “Thanks, Finn. Now I feel 100 years old.” The comment perfectly encapsulated the generational exile that post represented. For kids, this is a cool story. But for anyone who remembers The Replacements in their prime, it is an awful reminder of how much time has elapsed, wherein the birth of a prominent movie star has been wrapped up.
In his acting career, as well as his real-life one with the band The Aubreys, he has never hidden his affinity for music. The story therefore straddles neatly both public identities of Wolfhard-the-actor and Wolfhard-the-musician-as-well-as-funny-wedging-his-own-history-na-members-wrench-to-rock-n-roll.
More than provoking laughter, the story places another of literally rock-and-roll offspring frame around the ever-so-public icon. That storyline seems very true to punk yet very tender; that is quite obviously a connection that has resonated with his followers. This post is proof enough that any star has a history- sometimes with an extremely cool soundtrack.
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This was a masterstroke in personal branding from Finn, intertwining family and fandom with just a pinch of music, resulting in one enormous hit on social media. It gave fans something to smile about, something to talk about, something that binds their hearts together. He also recently teased the Detroit playoffs.