Stranger Things has swept the nation.

15-year-old Gaten Matarazzo plays one of Stranger Things’s most popular characters, Dustin Henderson. Dustin provides most of the show’s comic relief, and he is the mediator of the friend group. Matarazzo took the time after school on December 12th in NVD’s auditorium to speak to some of  Northern Valley’s theater students.

Northern Valley’s theater teacher, Mr. Charles Miller, is old friends with Matarazzo and his family, so he asked Matarazzo to come speak to his students to share his perspective as an actor.

Matarazzo started performing on Broadway when he was just 9 years old. Confirming the obvious, Matarazzo said, “It’s pretty cool to be performing on Broadway.”

Matarazzo “grew up real fast on Broadway,” especially because his first role was Benjamin in Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, where he played the son of a drag queen.

Matarazzo’s success at a young age is not all luck. He auditioned for three full years before he really started to get somewhere. As advice, Matarazzo said,“rejection is what to expect… never go into an audition expecting a role.”

Matarazzo said that he got rejected so many times, “I would have stopped acting if it wasn’t for [my mom.] She taught me rejection is what to expect.”

One of the students that got to meet Matarazzo, Senior Zachary Arencibia, learned from him that, “theatre auditions can end up being a ‘right place at the right time’ kind of deal.”

As for skill, Matarazzo advised, “Find some way of not just reflecting [the character], but using their emotional drive.”

Similarly, Miller shared, “you can’t play a character without all of you…” In fact, the producers of Stranger Things decided to add Matarazzo’s genetic condition to his character. Matarazzo said, it “made me feel like I was playing me.”

Junior Chris Schettino shared that through this experience he has learned, “how to go past boundaries [he has] never thought about reaching and it has really opened [his] horizons.”

Both Schettino and Arencibia hope to pursue acting, especially now that they know it is really possible. Arencibia is in the process of audition to programs for college.

All in all, Matarazzo brought a new perspective to the Northern Valley with his visit. He showed that making it in the acting world is possible, but that to get there it not only requires talent, but persistence and hard work.