Gaten Matarazzo

Gaetano John "Gaten" Matarazzo III is an American actor who gained international recognition for his performance as Dustin Henderson in the Netflix science-fiction drama series Stranger Things. He began his acting career on stage as a child performer in musical theater productions before moving into high-profile television and film roles. Beyond his dramatic work, he has worked as a television host and executive producer.

Matarazzo was born on September 8, 2002, in New London, Connecticut, to Heather and Gaetano John Matarazzo Jr., and grew up in Little Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey. He has an older sister, Sabrina, and a younger brother, Carmen, and his paternal grandfather is of Italian descent. Matarazzo was born with cleidocranial dysplasia, a rare genetic condition, and he also has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. He received vocal training at the Starlight Performing Arts Center in New Jersey and took third place in a national talent competition in 2011. He later graduated from Pinelands Regional High School in 2020.

His professional performance career began in theater when he joined the Broadway cast of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert as a replacement in 2011. He appeared in a special youth performance of Godspell in 2012 before playing the role of Gavroche on the national tour of Les Misérables in 2013 and its Broadway revival from 2014 to 2015. Matarazzo made his television debut in a 2015 episode of the drama series The Blacklist.

In 2016, Matarazzo achieved his breakthrough after being cast in Stranger Things. Although he originally auditioned for the role of Mike Wheeler, he was selected to portray Dustin Henderson, and the show's creators adjusted the character's background to include cleidocranial dysplasia. Following his success on the show, Matarazzo broadened his television experience by hosting and executive producing the hidden-camera series Prank Encounters from 2019 to 2021.

Matarazzo continued to maintain an active stage and screen presence in subsequent years. He performed in a production of Into the Woods at the Hollywood Bowl in 2019 and voiced Bubba in The Angry Birds Movie 2. In 2022, he starred in the coming-of-age film Honor Society, voiced Boris the Dragon in My Father's Dragon, and returned to Broadway in Dear Evan Hansen, followed by a casting as Toby Ragg in Sweeney Todd. He later voiced Lucky in the 2025 animated movie Animal Farm and served as an actor and executive producer for the 2026 comedy film Pizza Movie.

Matarazzo actively uses his visibility to raise awareness for cleidocranial dysplasia and help fund oral surgeries through the organization CCD Smiles. He has also participated in charity livestreams, table reads, and theatrical benefit performances supporting causes such as autism initiatives, hunger relief, children's health organizations, and accessible arts programming. Since 2018, he has been in a personal relationship with actress Elizabeth Yu.