In the Envelope: The Actor’s Podcast features in-depth conversations with today’s most noteworthy actors and creators. Join host and senior editor Vinnie Mancuso for this guide to living the creative life from those who are doing it every day.
After nearly a decade, the end is nigh for Netflix’s supernatural mega-hit, “Stranger Things”—and star Gaten Matarazzo feels it. The actor, now 22, has been playing the lovable protagonist Dustin Henderson on the Duffer brothers’ series since he was 13. And although he wrapped a Broadway run last year as Tobias in “Sweeney Todd” and is voicing a new character, Sig Greebling, on the animated series “LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy” (out Sept. 13 on Disney+), Matarazzo is still wrestling with the idea of the most significant project of his life coming to a close.
“That’s starting to kick in, now that we’re finishing the show,” he tells us. “[Not having] that safety net of: Oh, this is cozy; there’s multiple seasons, and if I don’t necessarily do well outside of the show, at least I have another one. It’s kind of the first time where we’re all, collectively, I think, experiencing that [feeling of]: What if?”
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The read-through for the final episode of “Stranger Things” landed on Matarazzo’s birthday.
“I was like, do I want this to be my birthday? Adorably enough, [Millie Bobby Brown] and [Noah Schnapp] made me a cake the night before. Then it smooshed on the way over and settled weird—it was very reminiscent of Hagrid’s cake to Harry in the first ‘Harry Potter.’ But it was enough to make me feel emotional just in that moment, before we even sat down to read it.
It was one of those [moments] where I’m like, ‘I’m not going to let anything get in the way of me feeling centered and loving of this room and this piece of paper and everybody here that’s reading this, because this is family.’ And it was really intense. It was really… It was a beautiful moment that I’m really glad that I have. After we’ve finally seen how it’s wrapping up, it really is just like: OK, now let’s just focus on doing it, now that we know what this arc is from [Season] 1 to 5.”
He’s still coming to terms with what it means for the Netflix series to end.
“I got to do this for a decade. That consistency is very rare in this industry, so that is starting to hit slowly now. Something I’ll always remember is that unsure feeling from when I was first auditioning…for years to no avail, three, four times a week. I knew casting directors by name enough to give high-fives and hugs when I went and saw them. And yet I still wasn’t booking. There’s that frustration of: Is this going to keep working? Is it going to work at all?
Even if I were to consistently book larger things after [‘Stranger Things’], I doubt that feeling goes away. So if there was one thing that I could say—this is never a good industry to look toward a specific end goal of: ‘As long as I do this, then I’m set.’ There’s no promotion system with this type of job. It really is something that you will probably only enjoy if you can specifically live in the present moment.
It’s easier said than done, especially when I’m in a situation of filming ‘Stranger Things’ and having the financial security that it brings. That’s not something that is common among working actors, even those working consistently. So, of course, many will look at that and scoff and say, ‘Yeah, I’m sure it’s easy.’ Which, valid, very, very valid. But I think that anxiety never goes away.”
The pressure the “Stranger Things” cast feels is mirrored by the characters onscreen.
“[There’s] a lot more pressure now, a lot more of, like, we better get this right. Because we’ve been lucky enough to have four very loved, very successful seasons that have been reviewed very well, that have been loved by our fans, overwhelmingly so. So when you’re going into the last season, in a situation where really good TV shows are notorious for having weak final seasons, of course that looms over. So, a lot more anxiety, a lot more pressure. But in contrast, the characters are also dealing with a lot more anxiety and a lot more pressure than they were in the first [season].
It’s just a different feeling. And even though there’s a lot more built-up pressure and anxiety here, there’s also four seasons of experience with these characters that can also assist us. We have a lot of baggage and a lot of history and a big toolbox that we can grab from, from four seasons past that we consistently grab from and look back and see what can help us here, now.”
This episode is sponsored by MetroPlusHealth.
