Stranger Things has a lot going for it: A great pair of writers, a great 80’s backdrop – but most importantly – an amazing cast.
And while the likes of Eleven and Winona Ryder’s Joyce no doubt have caught your eye, one character that’s difficult to forget is Dustin – for more reasons than one.
Not only is he the show’s most quotable and likeable character, he’s also the one with the least amount of teeth.
And Gaten Matarazzo, who plays Dustin, has explained why the loveable character is missing some of his chompers.
The 13-year-old suffers from cleidocranial dysplasia, a rare condition that primarily affects the development of bones and teeth.
So instead of giving Gaten fake teeth to wear for the show, Stranger Things writers the Duffer Brothers decided to write it into the script.
And while many people would find the condition difficult to live with, it seems Gaten embraces it pretty well. He even helps out other kids who suffer from the same thing.
He told the Daily Beast:
It’s a very rare condition and not many people have it around the world. When they wrote it in to the show, I [started] getting a lot of messages and emails from people who have the condition, saying that it really helps them come out of their shells a little bit.
I’ve always liked to embrace the condition but other people don’t feel the same way. They say that because this was in the show and this is the first time they’ve heard of it outside the doctor’s office, it made them feel really good and it inspired them.
Just letting you guys know. These are fake teeth. ? #toothless
A photo posted by Gaten Matarazzo (@gatenm123) on
And according to Finn Wolfhard, who plays Mike Wheeler in Stranger Things, Gaten was born without a collarbone, a common abnormality for sufferers of cleidocranial dysplasia.
For him to be so open and helpful about his condition is amazing.
