1 hour ago
2
It’s Ted Wheeler’s time to shine.
For all five seasons of the Netflix hit “Stranger Things,” Ted Wheeler has been an oblivious dad to Mike (Finn Wolfhard) and Nancy (Natalia Dyer).
“Ted gets a bad rap. It seems like probably more than 50% of the [fans] consider him to be a bad dad. I don’t,” Joe Chrest exclusively told The Post.
Ted often gets ignored in his household. But that was far from the case when Chrest attended the show’s Season 5 LA premiere on Nov. 6.
As quickly as he stepped out onto the red carpet, he became the subject of a viral TikTok. Long were the days of Ted’s aging glasses and stuffy tie and suit. Now, he’s being branded as a “silver fox.”
“You’re telling me….this whole time…..THIS WHOLE TIME….ted wheeler was….hot?” one person remarked online.
“Karen I’m sorry for ever doubting your vision,” another penned, referring to Ted’s wife, Karen Wheeler (Cara Buono).
Chrest, 62, is not on TikTok, but his kids showed him the video and commentary. His daughter is in eleventh grade, he explained, and it was “really weird” to have her friends talking about the transformation.
“It was, I guess, funny and kind of a little awkward,” he told The Post.
“Stranger Things” follows Mike, Nancy, and their friends like Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) as they grow up in the ‘80s and deal with supernatural threats.
Ted and Karen have been the beacons of normalcy on the show – a suburban couple unaware of the spooky events happening around them. Ted can often be seen in front of the TV, while Karen frequently appears dissatisfied with the marriage (as seen in Season 3, when she flirted with Dacre Montgomery’s Billy).
“It seems like [Ted and Karen have] subtly drifted apart, because in Season 1, you definitely saw there were more tender moments – like when we were concerned together watching the news and holding hands, and stuff like that,” he recalled.
Chrest theorized that the reason for Ted and Karen’s seemingly shaky relationship is, “As it often happens in real life, really intense situations can cause people either to come together, or grow apart.”
“Cara is one of those people I’ve gotten very close to, over the years,” he added of their off set bond.
“I’m looking to do more theater [post-‘Stranger Things’], and she comes from the theater world. It would be really cool if we could get on stage together.”
The Netflix sci-fi hit first premiered in 2016, and will end with Season 5.
Chrest said that he’s been having “various waves of emotional moments” around the conclusion.
“When we closed down the Wheeler home…it was just such a special place,” he said. “It was there for a decade.”
It was particularly emotional to see old photos of himself with his TV son, Wolfhard, 22.
“He’s down below my armpit [in old photos]. And now, he’s taller than me. Nicholas, my own son, is the same age as Finn. I literally watched them grow up together,” he explained. “My favorite thing in life is being a dad. It’s the best job in the world.”
For Chrest, the “Stranger Things” cast became like a “real family” after working together for 10 years. And he’s been “proud of their accomplishments” outside Hawkins, Indiana.
Despite his public glow up, the actor’s real life does still mirror Ted — especially when he’s slouched on his living room couch.
“When [my son] was a teenager and [his friends] started coming over the house, there were times when they were fans of the show. And I would be, like, sacked out in front of a football game,” he recalled.
Joking about the similarity, they’d exclaim: “‘Oh my God, I can’t believe that!’”
Even more, they’d then take “unflattering photos” of him.
“Stranger Things” Season 5 will have 8 episodes, dropping on Netflix in three volumes, releasing on Nov. 26, Dec. 25, and Dec. 31.
English (US)