- Born
- Birth nameGaetano John Matarazzo III
- Nickname
- Gaten
- Height5′ 3″ (1.60 m)
- Gaetano John "Gaten" Matarazzo III (born September 8, 2002) is an Italian-American actor. He began his career on the Broadway stage as Benjamin in Priscilla, Queen of the Desert & as Gavroche in Les Misérables. He stars as Dustin Henderson in the Netflix science-fiction drama series, Stranger Things (2016).
Matarazzo was born in New London, Connecticut & raised in Tuckerton, New Jersey. He has cleidocranial dysplasia (CCD), a trait he shares with his Stranger Things character. He uses dentures as a result of his condition, and uses his fame to raise awareness about it.
Matarazzo uses his platform to raise awareness of CCD and fundraise for CCD Smiles, an organization that helps cover costs of oral surgeries for those with cleidocranial dysostosis. Matarazzo has also started a line of T-shirts whose proceeds will go to CCD Smiles. On his social media sites, Matarazzo actively notifies his followers of how to donate to CCD Smiles and different events he will participate in. Recently, his sister also started a Facebook campaign to raise money for the organization.
Since 2017, Matarazzo has served as spokesman for Verizon FiOS.
- IMDb mini biography by: ahmetkozan
- ParentsHeather Matarazzo
- RelativesSabrina Matarazzo(Sibling)Carmen Matarazzo(Sibling)
- Greets his fans with "Yo Dudes"
- Curly hair
- Was born with cleidocranial dysplasia, a rare genetic condition that caused him to be born without collar bones and affected the development of his facial bones, skull, and teeth. According to Gaten, his case is mild. After he was cast in "Stranger Things," his condition was written into the script. In the pilot episode, Dustin (Gaten) actually explains his condition to a school bully who mocks him about his teeth and commands him to "do the shoulder thing." Dustin obliges, bringing his shoulders together in front of his chest, which he is able to do because of the lack of collarbones.
- Counts The Goonies (1985) as one of his all-time favorite movies.
- A misconception is that he is the son of Heather Matarazzo, because his mother is also named Heather Matarazzo. In August 2025, both of them met for real, with the actress jokingly calling him her "son".
- His ancestry includes Italian, Hungarian, English, Finnish, and Scottish.
- Spokesman for Verizon FiOS since 2017.
- My friends are pretty used to me being an actor, and the ones who have known me for a long time don't make too big of a deal out of it.
- I started doing theater, musical theater, because of my sister. She's a singer; she's an actress, too.
- I'm a kid who grew up in a small town and started acting when he was seven for no reason and got lucky. Sometimes it can be a little overwhelming. I feel like some people, especially child stars, act out because they don't know how to handle the pressure.
- For me, cleidocranial dysplasia was something that just spontaneously happened. Nobody in my family has it. It doesn't really hinder me at all. Obviously, I'm still able to do the things I love.
- I started acting when I was seven, and I didn't get my first role till I was nine. So for two years, I was just auditioning.
- Stranger Things (2016) - $7,000,000 (Season 5)
- Stranger Things (2016) - $20,000 /episode (Season 1)
- Stranger Things (2016) - $16,800 per episode (Season 2)
- Stranger Things (2016) - $250,000 per episode (Season 3)
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