The show certainly built up the mystery, so what was Stiles’ real name on Teen Wolf? Michael J. Fox had a busy year in 1985 as not only was he starring in sitcom Family Ties, but he also appeared in two hit films – Back To The Future and Teen Wolf. The latter was a comic take on famed 1957 b-movie I Was A Teenage Werewolf and involves Fox’s teenager Scott, a high-school student who discovers he’s a werewolf; this comes in useful during basketball practice. While the reviews weren’t kind, the movie became a surprise hit.
Teen Wolf’s success naturally led to calls for a sequel, but by that point, Fox wasn’t interested in returning and subjecting himself to the make-up. Instead, Jason Bateman (Horrible Bosses) was cast as Scott’s cousin Todd, who is also afflicted with the werewolf gene. Teen Wolf Too was Bateman’s first movie but it received horrible reviews and was a box-office dud; the star has since disowned it. There were plans for a third Teen Wolf that would have featured Alyssa Milano (Charmed) as the title character, but it was quickly scrapped following the second movie’s reception. Teen Wolf also received an animated TV show in 1986 that ran for two seasons.
The franchise was finally resurrected with MTV series Teen Wolf which was heavily inspired by Buffy The Vampire Slayer. This reimagined take on Teen Wolf debuted in 2011 and while there were initial concerns it would be a cheesy update on the original movie, it soon proved to a solid mix of teen drama and horror. It also provided breakout roles for actors like Tyler Hoechlin (Supergirl) and Dylan O’Brien (American Assassin) as Stiles. Stiles is the best friend of main character Scott, but certain parts of his past were kept mysterious throughout the series, including his actual name.
During Teen Wolf season 6, supernatural foes named Ghost Riders start to erase Stiles from everybody’s memories, including his father Sheriff Stilinski (Linden Ashby, Mortal Kombat). In episode 8 “Blitzkrieg” the Sheriff has started to recover memories of his son, revealing to Scott and his friends that Stiles’ full name is Mieczyslaw Stilinski. The young Stiles had trouble pronouncing this and could only get to “Mischief,” which is what his mother Claudia nicknamed him until her death.
Teen Wolf showrunner Jeff Davis was looking for a Polish name that resembled “mischief,” which is how he selected the somewhat trickly moniker for Stiles. It was a good payoff to six seasons of mystery, just like fans who waited six seasons to learn Schmidt’s first name on sitcom New Girl.
