‘Stranger Things’ Star Charlie Heaton Gives Rare Details About His Son In New Interview
He's been kept out of the spotlight.
Kathy Hutchins / Shutterstock / Instagram While promoting the fourth and final season of Netflix's hit series "Stranger Things," discreet star Charlie Heaton is giving a rare look into his life off-screen.
In an interview with GQ magazine, the actor who plays Jonathon Byers on the show offered insight into his life before fame, which included a brief mention of his son.
The English actor and musician opened up about launching his career by touring with his band. It was through this that he met his ex-girlfriend and mother of his son.
Who is Charlie Heaton’s son, Archie Heaton?
As mentioned by GQ, Archie Heaton was born in England, his father's home country, in 2014, when Charlie Heaton was 20 years old.
Charlie's son is reported to live primarily with his mother, Akiko Matsuura, who Charlie met and dated as a teen.
Charlie, who is now 28, splits his time between the US, where his career is primarily based, and London, where his son lives.
Who is Akiko Matsuura? Detail on the mother of Charlie Heaton's son.
Akiko Matsuura is a Japanese drummer and musician who is best known for her role as a drummer and backing vocalist for The Big Pink, an English electronic rock band.
Charlie and Akiko met before his acting career took off while the two were both in the noise rock band Commanechi, with Heaton as the drummer and Matsuura as the frontwoman.
He toured with the group for over a year, and fell in love with Matsuura during that time.
Not much is known about Matsuura’s personal life.
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The two reportedly split in the months after Archie’s birth. Neither of them has ever commented on their breakup.
“They share a son, but he lives with Akiko and Charlie visits on occasion," a source told Us Weekly in 2017.
"Charlie is in L.A. most of the time auditioning and was filming for Stranger Things, but he jumps across the pond to London to see their son. Akiko and Charlie are amicable coparents.”
Heaton is also notoriously private and does not share photos of his son.
Matsuura and Heaton have a sizable age gap between them, with her being 41 and him being 28. Some have speculated that Heaton was not ready to be a father, as he was only 20 when Archie was born, and that is the cause of his breakup with Matsuura.
After splitting up with Matsuura, Heaton began dating fellow "Stranger Things" actor Natalia Dyer in 2016. Their characters in the hit Netflix series, Jonathan and Nancy Wheeler, respectively, are also dating.
Neither Dyer nor Heaton has commented about her relationship with Archie.
Jonathan Alfano is a writer who focuses on news and entertainment topics. Follow him on Twitter to keep up with his content.