‘Stranger Things’ Star Gaten Matarazzo on How He’s Brought Depth to Dustin Over the Years

Gaten Matarazzo teased the Stranger Things finale and the journey to its end with ABC News, as the Netflix hit series is set to return November 26.

In the conversation, Matarazzo, who plays Dustin Henderson, the endearing D&D-loving goofball who often serves as the comedic relief of the Hawkins crew, talked about how co-creators Matt and Ross Duffer prepared their cast for the inevitable end of their Upside Down adventures.

“We knew going in that we were approaching the end of it. We had been told pretty early on in the process. I mean, from the first season, it wasn’t clear whether we’d have a second [season] at all and then once it gained some success, which we were very grateful for, then I think Matt and Ross, our creators, knew that they wanted to have an end in sight and understand when they were going to wrap it up,†Matarazzo said. “Because a lot of shows that are quite successful tend to bank off that success for a good long time—and then they get wrapped up in a situation that they don’t know how to end—I think they knew that they wanted to have somewhere to go. And so they kept that in mind and we knew it would probably be about four or five seasons.â€

With season five of Stranger Things, that time has come. Matarazzo talked about how he perceived Dustin, especially in regard to his frequent buddy-comedy moments with co-star Joe Keery, who plays Steve “the babysitter†Harrington.

“I think [being comic relief] was always pretty much the intention with the character from the beginning, and I think the [bigger] challenge was kind of trying to bring a bit more nuance there and not just go with quippy one-liners, which I’m really grateful for,†he said. “They wanted all their characters to feel really well thought out and we had the time to do that. We had the time; we had several seasons, a lot of time invested in these characters to bring a lot of depth over the course of these five seasons. So I think that, yeah, that depth comes along the way and it’s really fun to do and I always enjoyed it. It kind of brings a little bit less of that pressure on me, [and] I can have a little bit more fun.â€

While the actor couldn’t tease much about what’s in store for season five—we do know Hawkins is still dealing with the aftermath of the Upside Down tearing into town—he did call it “a roller coaster†and added that the show’s epic conclusion will be well worth the wait.

“It’s a lot of fun. It was a lot of fun to make and [the Duffer brothers] knew going in that it was going to be huge and there was an expectation set to make sure that it kind of lived up to what [season] four brought in. Four was huge, bigger than I think we initially thought it was going to be so [season five], it’s large and it’s long, which I’m excited about. And since it took so long to make, I think it’s refreshing to a lot of people that there’s a lot of show there.â€

Stranger Things season five drops its first part on November 26.

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