Check who will participate in the final chapter

Linda Hamilton as Dr. Kay

Hamilton told The Hollywood Reporter that he was approached for the role of Dr. Kay just “two weeks” after he broached the idea of ​​retiring. “It’s not because there’s not enough work to do, it’s just that I’m tired of being tough,” she explained.

The Terminator star said she got a call from her agent about the Netflix hit and asked if she was available from June to June, and she immediately said yes. “He didn’t even ask me.”

Hamilton said she was “thrilled” to be joining the series, which she had always been a big fan of, but ironically, joining the cast “ruined the show for me.”

“It’s like impostor syndrome where you feel like you don’t fit in there,” she told Us Weekly. “When you’re really into something, you don’t see yourself in it.”

Dr. Kay is a military scientist who tracks Eleven. She makes her debut in the premiere episode, “Chapter 1; The Crawl.”

Dr. Kay’s first scene shows her dissecting a creature from the Upside Down. This creature does not bite, but “strangles”. She is irritated with the sergeant who says he has failed in capturing Eleven.

“Tell the commander we’re hitting a wall here,” she tells the sergeant. “Innocent people are dying. I need that girl.”

She makes an even more dramatic appearance in episode 4.

Nell Fisher as Holly Wheeler

Holly Wheeler has been a character in previous seasons of Stranger Things, but she will be joining the show head-on in Season 5. The role of Mike and Nancy’s sister has been recast by 14-year-old Fisher, who appears immediately after the opening credits of episode one.

She is the first target of the monster Vecna, who is terrorizing the town of Hawkins. She was transfixed by a figure coming from afar and waving to her. He stopped outside her house and visited her again outside the school playground. Her mother and teacher are worried about a “mystery friend” she keeps saying she’s seeing. She says he is “protecting” her from “Hawkins’ monster.”

Jake Connelly as Derek Turnbow

Hamilton told The Hollywood Reporter that he was approached for the role of Dr. Kay just “two weeks” after he broached the idea of ​​retiring. “It’s not because there’s not enough work to do, it’s just that I’m tired of being tough,” she explained.

After Vecna ​​takes Holly to the Upside Down, Derek is placed under the group’s protection as Will (Noah Schnapp) uses his unresolved connection to the hive mind to determine that Derek is Vecna’s next target.

The 13-year-old actor was cast in Season 5 in July 2024, writing in an Instagram post at the time: “So excited and honored to be appearing on Hawkins and joining the amazing cast.”

After filming wrapped in December, Connolly reflected on the year he spent filming in Atlanta in another post. “While I am very sad to close the trailer door for the final time, the memories and friendships I made will last forever. I would like to thank the most amazing cast and crew for their guidance and support.”

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Alex Breaux as Lieutenant Robert Akers

Breaux is new to the cast of Stranger Things, but he has plenty of experience around the world, having previously played Dr. Brenner in Broadway’s Stranger Things: The First Shadow.

In the series, Breaux plays Lieutenant Robert Akers, one of Upside Down’s Dr. Kay’s henchmen who is trying to hunt down Eleven. In Vol. 1, he is taken hostage by Eleven and Hopper (David Harbour) in the Upside Down, and Eleven is able to enter his mind to learn more about Dr. Kay and the lab she runs.

Breaux teased TV Insider that working with Hamilton was “amazing” and talked about how different the action star is on and off screen.

“She’s so hardcore and tough as nails in front of the camera, but off stage she’s like the softest, sweetest person and gives everyone the warmest hugs,” he said. “So it was fun to watch her flip the switch from sweetheart to bad guy—-.”