Charlie Heaton

Charles Ross Heaton is an English actor and musician best known for portraying Jonathan Byers in the Netflix science fiction drama series Stranger Things. Before establishing his acting career, he played drums for several rock bands. His feature film credits include roles in projects such as As You Are, Marrowbone, The New Mutants, No Future, and The Souvenir Part II.

Born on February 6, 1994, in Leeds, Heaton was raised by his mother on a council estate in Bridlington. His older sister, Levi, works as an actress and live backing musician for Self Esteem. At sixteen, Heaton moved to London in 2010 to pursue music. He played drums for multiple groups before joining the noise rock band Comanechi, with whom he released an album in 2013, supported The Gossip, and toured for eighteen months. He subsequently played drums for the psychedelic rock group Half Loon.

Without formal acting instruction, Heaton began considering dramatic roles while working as a bartender and background extra, taking commercial jobs to support his income as a musician. In 2015, he earned guest roles on British television series including DCI Banks, Vera, and Casualty. That same year, he landed his breakthrough role as Jonathan Byers in Stranger Things. Before the show aired, he filmed his first feature role in the thriller Shut In, followed by the coming-of-age film As You Are, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2016.

Heaton went on to play a main role in the 2017 psychological horror film Marrowbone. In 2018, the BBC announced he would portray Joseph Merrick in a two-part drama; although the casting drew criticism from a disability advocacy group, the project was ultimately cancelled for unrelated reasons. He co-starred as Samuel "Sam" Guthrie, known as Cannonball, in the 2020 superhero film The New Mutants. He later appeared in the independent feature No Future and had a supporting role in The Souvenir Part II, both released in 2021.

Following his work on Stranger Things, Heaton starred in the 2025 drama Billy Knight, and in April 2026, he was cast as Charles Shelby in a Peaky Blinders sequel series. He has also continued occasional musical work, playing drums on a 2024 track by the punk rock band Luxury Apartments.

In his personal life, Heaton has a son, born in 2014, with his former bandmate Akiko Matsuura. Since 2016, he has been in a relationship with actress Natalia Dyer, who played his character's girlfriend on Stranger Things. He is a supporter of Arsenal FC. Friends in the music industry have also referenced him in their work, including the band Skinny Lister and his co-star Joe Keery, who performs as Djo and featured Heaton's contributions on his 2025 album.