With Stranger Things months into production on its fifth and final season, it only makes sense for the cast to begin reflecting on the final episodes while also looking to what comes next. The latest star taking a walk down memory lane is Gaten Matarazzo, who plays fan-favorite character Dustin Henderson, and I have to say, his take on life after the Netflix megahit is refreshing.
Appearing on Michael Rosenbaum’s Inside of You podcast, Matarazzo chatted about growing up on Netflix, having those awkward adolescent years forever captured for the world to see, and the trajectory of his career. The two bonded over both being a part of successful television series — Rosenbaum having appeared in Smallville — and opened up about how they each dealt with the fame that came with it.
Matarazzo, who has been working in the industry since he was a child, had a refreshing take on the level of popularity he’s achieved over the years and his hopes for how to leverage it in the future after Season 5 of Stranger Things airs:
Careers are always about peaks and valleys. And I think with this show, I’m very well aware of it, I would like the people in my team, like my managers and my agents, to understand that I’m very OK with understanding that Stranger Things will beyond very likely be the biggest thing I will ever do and will most likely be the thing I’m remembered for, even if I consistently work after this. And I’m so cool with that, as long as it facilitates happiness going forward, security and more work going forward, what the hell else could I ask for? I don’t really want to maintain a sense of relevancy at this point.
It’s so common for child actors to become jaded by the roles that made them famous, and while some will do just about anything to rebrand themselves so the world takes them seriously others choose to leave Hollywood behind. However, when listening to him talk, it’s clear that Matarazzo does not share that same sentiment.
If anything, he’s eternally grateful for what Stranger Things has given him professionally and personally, and he hopes it leads to great things in the future — even if they are on a smaller scale. In fact, he seems excited about taking on roles in projects that aren’t as big as the hit Netflix show since that level of fame was never his goal.
Maybe he’s taken advice from Sean Astin, who he starred alongside in Season 2 of Stranger Things. He has embraced the roles that made him famous, like The Goonies and The Lord of the Rings. He’s a great career role model to have, that’s for sure, and it seems like Matarazzo has a very similar mentality.
Fortunately, it doesn’t seem like the Dustin actor has anything to worry about when it comes to landing roles after Stranger Things. He recently returned to his Broadway roots playing Tobias Ragg in Broadway’s Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, and he made a one-night-only guest appearance in Gutenberg! The Musical! He’s also slated to be the lead voice actor in Lego Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy, which is sent to release on Disney+ in September as one of the streaming services’ upcoming Star Wars shows.
Stranger Things fans will be waiting awhile to see Matarazzo put on a funny hat and get back to fighting Vecna in Hawkins, but thankfully they can stream the first four seasons of the show with a Netflix subscription.
