It\u2019s 37 degrees outside and the air conditioning has just broken. So when actor and musician Finn Wolfhard declares to the camera that we\u2019re in a \u201cheat-apocalypse\u201d, he\u2019s only half-joking.<\/p>\n
Despite the warm, muggy air wafting through NME<\/em>\u2019s sweaty video studio on Denmark Street, London, the 23-year-old Canadian is in fine fettle throughout our interview. Famed for playing Spielbergian teen Mike Wheeler in Netflix\u2019s Stranger Things<\/em><\/a> and for fronting several indie rock bands, Wolfhard seems pleased to be focusing on his own projects at last. In this case, that\u2019s \u2018Fire From The Hip\u2019 \u2013 his first new album since the sci-fi juggernaut aired its final episode on New Year\u2019s Eve.<\/p>\n \u201cI wrote a lot of these songs last year,\u201d he says. \u201cI was experimenting with writing little stories, you know, songs that were less personal and more about people or characters.\u201d It\u2019s an approach that ties in with the DIY feel of \u2018Fire From The Hip\u2019 \u2013 a collection of homespun vignettes that sound like they\u2019ve been plucked, unaltered, from the mind of this unpretentious Gen-Z troubadour.<\/p>\n For the latest in NME<\/em>\u2019s In Conversation video series, Wolfhard dives deeper into the inspirations behind his latest release, reflects on a failed audition to play George Harrison in Sam Mendes\u2019 Beatles biopics<\/a>, and updates us on his forthcoming film about Minnesota post-punks The Replacements<\/a>.<\/p>\n Finn Wolfhard:<\/strong> \u201cI went to see Gorillaz<\/a> at Tottenham Stadium. That was pretty cool\u2026 Someone was telling me that it was their first headline stadium show in London and I was so shocked!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, they\u2019ve done stadiums in Canada and the US\u2026 I think it\u2019s a multi-generational thing. Kids really love Gorillaz because of the cartoon aspect of it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201c[Laughs] Yeah, Barry Lyndon<\/em> was definitely the comparison.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe English colonial-slash-pirate? This is the first record cover I\u2019ve been on, so I wanted to do something striking\u2026 The record is about how you sometimes can have two versions of yourself. You perform for people and then have your own inner life. The idea behind the cover was to have me in a duel with myself.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI just love that name\u2026 I have a few friends named Maggie [but also there\u2019s songs like] \u2018Maggie May\u2019 by Rod Stewart<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo I hadn\u2019t. Everyone tells me that I would really like Oasis<\/a> but I haven\u2019t [gone deep yet].\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo, but my friend literally traveled all the way from Vancouver to Manchester to watch them. Rock music at that level with that many people going and supporting it is really cool to see.\u201d<\/p>\n [Laughs] \u201cYeah, I\u2019m alright. I\u2019m not lonely with all the people in this room! I guess I have a job where I\u2019m constantly traveling and meeting different people. It\u2019s really amazing to have friends in different places and be able to come in and out, but at the same time, I\u2019m living in a place for a few months and feel like I have a friend group \u2013 then have to leave.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, the band that I play with\u2026 maybe they\u2019re just folksy people. Two of them are from Kentucky, one is from Illinois\u2026 I also like listening to a lot of early Wilco<\/a> and even the Stones. They have a lot of country elements to them.\u201d<\/p>\nHey Finn, what have you been up to in London this week?<\/h2>\n
Historically, they\u2019ve been a bit bigger in the US than in the UK\u2026<\/h2>\n
Tell me about your new album \u2018Fire From The Hip\u2019 \u2013 the cover art looks like if Wes Anderson made Barry Lyndon\u2026<\/em><\/h2>\n
Where did the nautical outfits come from?<\/h2>\n
\u2018Maggie\u2019 sounds a bit like \u2018Digsy\u2019s Dinner\u2019 by Oasis \u2013 who\u2019s the song about?<\/h2>\n
![\"Fire](\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Finn_Wolfhard_Fire_From_The_Hip.jpg\")
Had you heard \u2018Digsy\u2019s Dinner\u2019?<\/h2>\n
Were you around LA when Oasis Live 25 came to town?<\/h2>\n
Back to your album, there\u2019s quite a few lyrics about loneliness in there \u2013 are you OK, Finn?<\/h2>\n
Let\u2019s talk about your influences on these new songs \u2013 there\u2019s a lot of country coming through?<\/h2>\n