Gaten John Matarazzo III (born September 8, 2002) is an American actor. He began his career on the Broadway stage as Benjamin in Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, and as Gavroche in Les Misérables. He stars as Dustin Henderson in the Netflix science-fiction drama series Stranger Things.
Matarazzo was born in Little Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey. He has an older sister and a younger brother. Matarazzo 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.
