Don't worry, Charlie Heaton will be able to return to the U.S. to tape "Stranger Things" Season 3. The British actor told Flaunt magazine "it's all sorted now," but his experience being detained at LAX is still apparently a sore point.
Heaton (Jonathan Byers) was denied entry into the U.S. in October when authorities found traces of cocaine in his possession. He was put back on a plane to London and missed the big "Stranger Things" Season 2 premiere in Los Angeles.
At the time, Heaton issued a statement, calling it an immigration issue:
"My planned travel to the U.S. last week was affected by an issue at U.S. immigration, and I am working to rectify it as soon as possible," he said in his statement. "I do want to clarify that I was not arrested or charged with a crime, and cooperated fully with the U.S. officials at LAX. I'm sorry to all the fans and my 'Stranger Things' family for missing the premiere. We are all so proud of this season and I would never want this story to negatively impact the show."
Fast-forward to March 2018. Heaton didn't address the facts of the situation with Flaunt, but he did answer the magazine's question on how it felt to deal with the ensuing media frenzy after the news broke.
Here's that part of the interview:
"It was f*cking awful. It was just awful," he repeats, his head lowered. Can he return to the US for filming the new season? "Yeah, it's all sorted now," he says. "We go back in April so I plan to go back to America next month, and yes, I can go back." It's clear the incident is a painful memory.
"It was hard. Everything happened so fast, and I hadn't come to terms with the fact that I was famous. When something steps in from the work you are doing and breaks into your personal life...you feel kind of vulnerable. All of a sudden it becomes a very big story and it gets really blown out of proportion." After the news broke, the media arrived on his doorstep as well as at his parent's home in Yorkshire, something he describes as very "hard" and "upsetting" for them to deal with. "At the end of the day I just wanted to go back. I want to work and continue to work—that's all I've ever done."
Focusing his attention now firmly on the next season, I ask him what we can expect to see. "I don't know, I've not seen the script!" he explains, laughing and shrugging. "I know they're writing it at the moment and we'll find out soon—we'll see. I'm interested in the love triangle—Jonathan and Nancy are now together. I'm interested to see where it goes."
Heaton is said to be dating Nancy Wheeler actress Natalia Dyer in real life. Read his full interview for a lot more on how his life has changed -- mostly for the better -- since "Stranger Things" took off.
"Stranger Things" Seasons 1 and 2 are now streaming on Netflix. Season 3 starts taping this spring but there's no set premiere date at this point.
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