Who is Dustin in Stranger Things?

Dustin Henderson is one of the main characters of Stranger Things. He is a member of the main group of kids.

Stranger Things is a super hit American sci-fi show by the Duffer Brothers- Matt and Ross Duffer. It first aired on Netflix in 2016 and currently has 4 seasons with the 5th and final season in the making. The show is set in the 1980s in the town of Hawkins. The story is about a group of young friends - Lucas, Dustin, Mike, Will, Eleven, and Max. Their life changes when they come across supernatural events and state conspiracies taking place in their town. The Stranger Things star cast includes Millie Bobby Brown, Finn Wolfhard, Noah Schnapp, Caleb McLaughlin, Sadie Sink, Gaten Matarazzo, Joe Keery, Natalia Dyer, Charlie Heaton, etc.

Dustin Henderson, played by Gaten Matarazzo, is one of the protagonists of Stranger Things. His character was introduced in season 1. He is an important part of his friend group and has become a fan favorite early on.

Who is Dustin Henderson from Stranger Things?

Dustin Clarence Henderson was introduced in season 1 as a member of the close-knit friends group in Hawkins, Indiana. He is shown as a cheerful, intelligent, and goofy boy with a lisp due to his condition called cleidocranial dysplasia. He is a Dungeons & Dragons enthusiast who plays the board game with his friends. With his intelligence and strategic mindset, he played an important role in rescuing Will from Upside Down. He becomes friends with Steve Harrington to get advice because he wants girls to like him. With each season, their friendship grew stronger.

In season 3, he went to a science camp for a month, where he met Suzie and started dating her. When he returns from the camp, he makes a radio called Cerebro to communicate with Suzie. While using his radio he accidentally discovers a Russian transmission and asks Steve, Robin, and Lucas’s younger sister Erica to decode the messages. With his radio, they get to know that Russians are in Hawkins and working to open the gates of the parallel world. They defeat the Mind Flayer and close the gate by destroying the Russian machine with Dustin’s help.

In season 4, he and his friends make a plan to kill Vecna. They all went into the Upside Down, where Dustin and Eddie distracted the Demobats that guard Vecna’s place. However, Eddie gets killed while fighting the Demobats. At the end of season 4, he reunites with his friends after defeating Vecna.

Dustin and Steve’s Friendship

Dustin and Steve’s friendship in Stranger Things was an unusual friendship that surprised the viewers. They were opposites of each other as Steve was a typical high school jock and Dustin was a nerd. At first, Dustin approached Steve to ask for his advice on talking to girls. As they spend more time together, Dustin realizes that Steve is more than just his jock personality and is mature and loyal.

Their friendship grows stronger when they face situations related to the Upside Down. Even when Steve was facing his own problems, he became a protective figure for Dustin. He always helped Dustin and his friends during difficult times. They both had mutual respect and care for each other. Even with the age difference, their friendship stands out because they are there for each other.

Related: Who is billy in stranger things

Who acted as Dustin Henderson in Stranger Things?

Gaetano John Matarazzo III is an American actor born on September 8, 2002, in Connecticut. He was born with a condition called cleidocranial dysplasia. In 2011, he started doing theater performances with the Broadway musical Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. He made his TV debut in 2015 with NBC’s The Blacklist. He is best known for his role as Dustin Henderson in Stranger Things. He gained worldwide popularity for this role and received praise from critics for his performance. He won a Screen Actors Guild Award with his Stranger Things cast.

Other than Stranger Things, he appeared in many projects including Ridiculousness (2017), Lip Sync Battle (2017), Drop the Mic (2018), Prank Encounters (2019-2021), Nickelodeon's Unfiltered (2021), and Lego Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy (2024). He also appeared in many music videos like Swish Swish by Katy Perry in 2017 and Meet Me on the Roof by Green Day in 2020. He started dating actress Elizabeth Yu in 2018.