Five Fast Facts About Stranger Things Star Gaten Matarazzo

The entire cast of Stranger Things is amazing, but no one is a bigger fan favorite than Gaten Matarazzo, who plays Dustin Henderson. Not only is Dustin the funniest character, but he also seems to have all of the best scenes, and that’s in large part thanks to Matarazzo’s amazing acting.

Which is pretty incredible when you consider how young he is. Here are five fast facts you must know about Stranger Things star Gaten Matarazzo right here!

Broadway Star
Prior to landing his role on the Netflix series, Matarazzo was a Broadway star! He was in both Les Misérables as Gavroche and Priscilla, Queen of the Desert as Benjamin, when he was just 10 years old!

Life Imitates Art
Matarazzo has cleidocranial dysplasia, which is a rare defect that affects the development of a person’s teeth and bones. However, Matarazzo is so open about his condition that they even gave his character, Dustin, the defect too.

Friends Before Co-Stars
Before being cast in Stranger Things, Matarazzo was already friends with Caleb McLaughlin, who plays Lucas on the Netflix show. In fact, they met while on Broadway because McLaughlin was starring as Young Simba in The Lion King.

Music Video Star
They say every actor wants to be a rock star. Well, Matarazzo hasn’t exactly achieved that but he was featured in Katy Perry’s iconic music video for her song Swish Swish back in 2017 as well as the song Lost Boys Life by Computer Games (Darren & Chuck Criss).

Could Have Been So Different
Matarazzo first auditioned for the role of Mike Wheeler on Stranger Things, but the part obviously went to Finn Wolfhard instead. However, he ended up getting the role of Dustin, so it all worked out in the end!