Who plays young Victor Creel in Stranger Things 4?

After nearly three years of waiting, Stranger Things 4 is finally here. Volume I of Netflix’s paranormal ’80s show consists of seven episodes released on May 27, with Volume II’s final two episodes following on July 1.

Stranger Things is bigger and more sprawling than ever this year; not a single episode clocks in under an hour, and some of them are literally movie-length. As such, there are more plot elements at play than ever before. A big one that season 4 introduces is Victor Creel, an old man in a psychiatric asylum who’s past might hold the key to defeating the show’s new villain Vecna.

Creel is played in Stranger Things by horror icon Robert Englund, known to most as Freddy Kreuger from the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise. Englund turns in a really memorable performance as Creel.

However, we do see Victor Creel in more than just that one scene. The show also features a flashback to when Victor’s family first moved into their house in Hawkins, before things started to unravel. You can see the younger version in a trailer Netflix released last year:

The younger version of Victor bears an uncanny resemblance to actor Robert Englund. Given all the deepfake and aging technology Netflix has employed in its movies and shows, including Eleven’s flashbacks in this season of Stranger Things, you might be wondering if Robert Englund also played the younger version of his character through the magic of CGI.

Is young Victor Creel played by Robert Englund?

As it turns out, the younger version of Victor Creel is not played by Robert Englund at all. Actor Kevin J. Johnson (Ozark) plays young Victor in the ’50s flashback sequence. Johnson could totally pass as a lookalike for a younger Englund, though. It was a great call by Netflix to employ an actual actor instead of heaping more CGI onto a show that’s already filled with it.

Stranger Things 4: Volume I is out tomorrow, May 27, on Netflix. Volume II comes out on July 1, and will feature the super-sized two-and-a-half hour season finale.

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