What legacy does Gaten Matarazzo hope Dustin leaves behind? 'Stranger Things' star says embracing curiosity and excitement is key

As Stranger Things closes its final chapter, Gaten Matarazzo is reflecting on what he hopes fans ultimately take away from Dustin Henderson.

In a conversation with Variety, the actor, 23, talked about watching the finale in theaters with his family in Jacksonville, Fla., while they were visiting for the holidays. He revealed:

"I went with my mom and my siblings when we were visiting her in Jacksonville for the holidays. We made sure that we reserved spots at a theater nearby. The theater itself was actually quite small, so it was really just like four or five other families."

Gaten Matarazzo added that he went inside the venue cosplaying a certain verdant character, but dropped the cover eventually.

"I went dressed fully as the Grinch so no one recognized me, but the theater was small enough that I was like 'Ah, whatever' and took the mask off."

When asked what he hopes his character Dustin leaves behind, the actor revealed that it's the character's penchant for adventure and smiling through it all.

"I'm thinking of a word that might seem inconsequential, but I don’t think that it is in the context of Dustin, and that's 'Enthusiasm.' I think something that's so interesting about Dustin is that every time they're in grave danger, he's always kind of smiling."

Gaten Matarazzo explained:

"I think that it's because he's fully aware and acknowledges how f***ing cool everything is. Like, they're gonna die, they're literally saving the world, but he's still floored that he might be the first person to be in contact with exotic matter. He's so excited and he’s so unapologetically nerdy and so invested in his interests and excited to learn."

Gaten Matarazzo on shaping his own identity while playing Dustin Henderson: "I inevitably learned a lot about myself alongside him"

The Stranger Things actor went on, reflecting on Dustin's standout attribute that he wants to epitomize.

"A lot of people approach what they don't know with angst or anxiety because the unknown is scary, but to Dustin, the unknown is the most exhilarating feeling in the world, because he has nothing but a drive to learn more about it. It's really fun and it's something that I strive to embody myself."

Speaking on how the recently concluded supernatural series shaped him, given that he began headlining the show as a teenager, Gaten Matarazzo credited his fictional role as Dustin in the process of building his identity offscreen.

"Weirdly, it's basically shaped everything about me, but I don't think there's any other way it could have happened. I spent so much of my time invested in trying to figure out who he was, and I think I inevitably learned a lot about myself alongside him."

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Gaten Matarazzo added:

"So much of our time and energy is focused on figuring out somebody that we are not, and, inevitably, you end up inadvertently learning about yourself through that. And that's really cool, so I think that I'm a very different person because of Dustin. I think that I am shaped into a different type of guy because I spend so much of my time shaping who he was."

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