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Stranger Things’ Caleb McLaughlin Dishes on Set Secrets and More

Stranger ThingsCaleb McLaughlin stopped by On Air With Ryan Seacrest on Friday, January 12, and dished on his career and behind-the-scenes secrets — including that first kiss with Max (Sadie Sink) and just exactly what a demogorgon is! 

Below is everything we learned about the up-and-coming 16-year-old actor:

1. His Sister Is Semi Responsible for His Career 

“My sister actually introduced me to acting,” Caleb told Ryan. “We went to this community theater in our town called Pied Piper and she didn’t wanna do it by herself. I was 7, but I didn’t professionally do it until I was 10.”

2. He Auditioned More Than 5 Times For the Role of Lucas

“My agent was like ‘Hey we have an audition for you for this ‘80s kind of themed-show.’ At first it was actually called Montauk. It was supposed to take place in Long Island, New York. I remember auditioning a few times. At first I did a self tape and then I went to the city and I did like five auditions.”

3. He Knew Gaten Matarazzo Before Landing the Role

“I knew Gaten before this. I knew he got the part actually before I went out to L.A. so I was like ‘I need to get this! I wanna work with him’ … I didn’t have his number [yet] though.”

4. The Demogorgon Is An Actual Human in Costume — Kinda 

“The first season [the demogorgon] was an actual man in a costume and the second season it was just air because it was a lot of visual effects because the demogorgons I don’t think anyone would want to be down there that long, but the actual costume is pretty cool,” Caleb shared of the upside down. “It feels real and it’s like squishy and they add like slimy stuff.”

5. The Kiss With Max Was His First Kiss!

“It was pretty crazy. [It was my first on-screen kiss] — and off-screen as well. I was like 'Wow, this is a good opportunity for me to practice for the future,' but it was fine. The weird thing was that the extras were also fans so they were like fangirling over Mike and Eleven kissing and stuff.”

Click here to also hear Caleb perfectly describe what it was like to meet Drake and listen to the full interview above!