Finn Wolfhard on His Post-Stranger Things Debut Album — and Catching Gorillaz's First-Ever London Arena Show

Canadian actor and musician Finn Wolfhard sat down with NME in London for an interview about his debut solo album, Fire From The Hip. Along the way, he mentioned a detour during his London trip: catching a Gorillaz show at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium — and being genuinely surprised to learn it was the band's first-ever London arena performance.

Gorillaz at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium: a London arena first

Wolfhard opened the interview by mentioning he'd been to see Gorillaz play a venue show during his time in London. Someone at the show told him it was the band's first London arena performance ever — which stunned him, given Gorillaz had already toured arenas across Canada and the US.

He also had a take on the band's cross-generational pull: "Gorillaz have this cartoon visual identity that's beloved by younger generations, so their audience spans several generations."

Fire From The Hip: writing characters instead of himself

Fire From The Hip is Wolfhard's first solo album since Netflix's Stranger Things wrapped. He told NME the songs were written starting last year, with an approach he describes as writing "little stories" rather than leaning on the more personal, confessional songwriting he'd done before — "less personal, more like writing about characters."

The album cover casts him in nautical-era period costume, drawing on the visual aesthetic of the film Barry Lyndon. Wolfhard says the imagery centers on "two versions of the self" — the performing, public-facing side and the private, internal side — staged as a duel with himself. It's also the first time he's appeared on his own album cover.

Musically, the record leans heavily on country and folk textures, partly a product of his backing band's roots — two members from Kentucky, one from Illinois. Wolfhard cites early Wilco and the country-leaning side of The Rolling Stones as influences. The single "Maggie" has drawn comparisons to Oasis's "Digsy's Dinner," though Wolfhard says he hadn't heard that song when he wrote it.

The interview is the latest installment of NME's In Conversation video series. Wolfhard also discussed missing out on an audition to play George Harrison in Sam Mendes's upcoming Beatles biopic film, and a forthcoming film project about Minnesota post-punk band The Replacements. Per NME, Wolfhard toured the UK in October 2025, playing King Tut's in Glasgow and Electric Brixton in London.