Gaten Matarrazo is one of fan favorites in the hugely successful series on Netflix. The Stranger Things managed to bring the nostalgia to its fans and told a very compelling sci-fi/mystical story set in a small American town in the 80s. Every single thing about the show worked. From the first season the show became a really big thing propelling child actors of the show to the stardom.
The show focuses on Eleven and a group of teenagers who help her fight against evil corporations and strange monsters from the parallel world called the Upside Down. Amongst her friends is Dustin played by Gaten Matarrazo, an adorable nerdy boy with curly hair and a slight facial deformity. The actor also has the cleidocranial dysplasia, a birth defect negatively affecting the development of facial bones and teeth.
The fans of the show adored the work of the young actor. Gaten also has a charity that works to help children affected by CCD. Just recently, the actor posted a picture of himself in a hospital. It is his 4th surgery that should be the “big one”. The boy is definitely nervous about the outcome of the operation, but his fans showed massive support and wished him the best of luck. After the surgery, his appearance will change which is something that will affect his character in the show.
We don’t have much information about the surgery and its specifics, but we have been seeing how his appearance changed after several minor surgeries. While changes were not drastic, they still affected Matarrazo’s looks.
The child actor has been quite open about his condition and helped raise awareness by establishing a non-profit organization “CCD Smiles” together with dr. Kelly Wosnik. The story of The Stranger Things incorporated CCD by having the character have CCD and lacking frontal teeth in the first season and gradually changing the look of the character as he started to wear dentures and otherwise improved his appearance in the subsequent seasons.
Many fans speculated that his character will receive the same operation in the show since Matarrazo’s face will definitely look slightly different after the surgery. At the same time, it will be impossible to ignore a change since Dustin mirrors so many experiences that the actor has.
Fellow actors including Milly Bobby Brown (Eleven) and Matty Cardarople (Keith) expressed their support on Instagram. Let’s hope that the surgery is a huge success and we will see the bright smile of Dustin in the 4th season of the show that will most likely conclude the series.