Natalia Dyer is best known for her role as the inquisitive Nancy Wheeler on the Netflix horror-thriller, Stranger Things. The popular show centers around a group of friends that investigate the strange occurrences in their town, including an “upside-down” world, mutated monsters, and a telekinetic girl that likes to eat waffles. Dyer’s character is the elder sister of one of the main boys that takes on wicked scientists and despicable monsters. Dyer’s roots prior to stepping into the dark show were a little more kid-friendly.
Natalia Dyer’s Disney Background
The Nashville native began her career in 2004 when she starred in a production of To Kill a Mockingbird, playing protagonist Scout. But the actress happened to stumble — literally — into the entertainment industry after an incident. Natalia Dyer’s parents had put her in a sports camp when she was a child, but she ended up spraining her ankle on the first day. “So they put me in something a little less active,” the actress recalled, “which was drama camp. My mom says I came out loving it.”
After graduating from Nashville School of Arts, the actress landed her first on-screen role in the family film, Hannah Montana: The Movie. For those who don’t remember, the film was based on the massively popular show of the same name. Miley Cyrus portrayed the young teen who lived two lives as a successful pop singer and a regular high-school student. The movie followed Cyrus’ character going back to roots after becoming too “Hollywood.”
Natalia Dyer’s part was just a small one. The actress played Clarissa Granger, one of the daughters of antagonist and paparazzi fanatic Oswald Granger, played by Peter Gunn. Despite being just a minor character, Dyer’s career would soon skyrocket.
Stranger Things and Beyond
After her brief appearance in the musical, Natalia Dyer starred in the indie film, I Believe in Unicorns, which premiered at South by Southwest in 2014. Two years later, the actress would be cast in her current mainstream role. When speaking on being an actor, the actress told The Tennessean, “Part of the life of an actor is just waiting on the precipice of what the universe is going to deal out for you.”
Netflix has confirmed that Stranger Things will return for another season, so we’ll see more of Dyer’s character dueling it out with whatever “strange” things pop up. But Natalia Dyer hasn’t shied away from other horror roles. The actress recently appeared in the Netflix movie, Velvet Buzzsaw, as the innocent Coco. We’ll also see Dyer star in the upcoming horror film, Things Heard and Seen. We may have a new scream queen on coming up the ranks, which is quite a shift considering where she got her start!