WATCH: Dustin From "Stranger Things" Talking About His Disability Will Melt Ya Damn Heart
28 September 2016, 16:02 | Updated: 7 November 2017, 16:50
"I just want to raise awareness for it and let people know that it's not something that you should be afraid of showing."
Over the past few weeks, the kids from Stranger Things - and our new favourite humans - have been doing the rounds, promoting their insanely popular new Netflix TV show. If you haven't watched it yet, WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!
Many wild stories have been told but none will break ya damn heart like Dustin speaking candidly about his disability.
via giphy.com
Gaten Matarazzo, who plays our fave curly-haired pudding-eating bae, has a condition called "cleidocranial dysplasia", which affects the growth of his bones. He was born without collarbones and still carries many of his baby teeth. (He often wears fake teeth for appearances and acting roles.)
It also affects facial growth and skull growth which results in a fair amount of surgery, in some cases. Gaten has a mild case of the condition and wants to spread the awareness of the condition with the help of the show.
And he speaks about it in such a mature way that you'd think he was a fully grown adult.
Gaten Matarazzo from Stranger Things talking about his disability is so important pic.twitter.com/6cdqpyJXs8
— Common White Girl (@girlposts) September 27, 2016
"I have a really mild case, and a lot of people have it much worse than I do."
via giphy.com
Earlier this month, Gaten told People magazine that “the feedback has been great.” He continued: “A lot of people were messaging me saying, ‘You made me feel better about myself, that you can show that you have this condition on TV and embrace it.’"
Not only is he working hard to raise awareness for the condition, he also revealed a heartbreaking story about how he kept losing roles for his disability.
"It took me two years to get my first part when I started acting...I was going out 2-3 times a week to the city...A lot of kids don't know why [they get rejected] and they think like they're not good...but it was always because of my lisp and me being shorter and having the teeth issue. That was always the reason they couldn't cast me."
Gaten Matarazzo
*wipes tears* *throws adoption papers at the screen*
via giphy.com
