Gaten John Matarazzo III (/ˈɡeɪtən ˌmætəˈræzoʊ/; 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.[2] He currently stars as Dustin Henderson in the Netflix science-fiction drama series Stranger Things. Personal life 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.[3] He uses dentures as a result of his condition, and uses his fame to raise awareness about it.[4] Philanthropy 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.[5][6] Filmography Year Title Role Notes 2015 The Blacklist Finn Episode: "The Kenyon Family (No. 71)" 2016–present Stranger Things Dustin Henderson Main Role 17 episodes 2017 Ridiculousness Himself Episode: 7, season 10 Since 2017, Matarazzo has served as the spokesman for Verizon FiOS. Music videos Year Title Artist 2017 "Swish Swish" Katy Perry (feat. Nicki Minaj)[7] "Lost Boys Life" "Computer Games" (Darren & Chuck Criss) "Jimmy Fallon's Golden Globes 2017 Opening" Jimmy Fallon Stage Year Title Role Location 2011 Priscilla, Queen of the Desert Benjamin Palace Theatre, Broadway 2014 Les Misérables Gavroche / Petit Gervais Imperial Theatre, Broadway 2018 Cinderella Jean-Michael Pinelands Regional Thespians[8] Awards and nominations Year Award Category Nominated work Result Ref. 2017 Young Artist Awards Best Performance in a Digital TV Series or Film – Teen Actor Stranger Things Nominated [9] 2017 Screen Actors Guild Awards Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series Won [10] 2017 Shorty Awards Best Actor Won [11] 2018 Screen Actors Guild Awards Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series Nominated [12] 2018 MTV Movie & TV Awards Best On-Screen Team (with Finn Wolfhard, Caleb McLaughlin, Noah Schnapp and Sadie Sink) Nominated [13] References Robinson, Peter (4 October 2016). "'Jesus would beat Simba in a fight' – the Stranger Things kids tackle the big issues". Retrieved 10 November 2017 – via www.theguardian.com. "Les Misérables". Playbill. Retrieved August 18, 2016. Ro, Crystal (August 5, 2016). "Dustin from "Stranger Things" loves showing off his fake teeth in real life, and obviously it's adorable". HelloGiggles.com. "Gaten Matarazzo Of 'Stranger Things' Talks About His Genetic Disorder". Huffington Post. September 28, 2016. "Donate to CCD Smiles! - StartSomeGood". StartSomeGood. Retrieved 10 November 2017. "'Stranger Things' star brings smiles to Utahns with rare genetic disorder - KSL.com". Retrieved 10 November 2017. Bell, Sadie. "Here Are All the Cameos From Katy Perry's 'Swish Swish' Music Video". Billboard. Retrieved 24 August 2017. "Pinelands' 'Cinderella' Not Your Grandfather's 'Cinderella' - The SandPaper". thesandpaper.villagesoup.com. "38th Annual Awards". Young Artist Association. Archived from the original on January 7, 2018. Retrieved January 7, 2018. Nolfi, Joely (14 December 2016). "SAG Awards nominations 2017: See the full list". Entertainment Weekly. "9th Annual Shorty Awards". Shorty Awards. April 25, 2017. Gonzalez, Sandra (17 January 2018). "The full list of the 2018 SAG Awards nominees". CNN. CNN. Retrieved 24 January 2018. Nordyke, Kimberly (May 3, 2018). "MTV Movie & TV Awards: 'Black Panther,' 'Stranger Things' Top Nominations". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on May 3, 2018. Retrieved May 3, 2018.