Gaten Matarazzo Says His Audition for Stranger Things Was "The Worst"

"one of the worst auditions I have ever had in my life."

"I wasn't nervous until I realized I did not know the lines as much as I should have,"

"I was of course ecstatic that I'd gotten a call back, because then I knew I was like, Great, so I can prep a lot better than I had for the first one."

"Of course I wanted to do the show. It was the start of the most important thing in my life."

Gaten Matarazzo is twenty-three and is on the press tour for Stranger Things season five, which premieres its first four episodes on November 26. He recalled his initial taped audition as one of the worst auditions he had ever had because he realized he did not know the lines and began to sweat. He received a callback that allowed much better preparation and ultimately earned the role of Dustin Henderson. He learned he got the part while riding in a car with his mother, who screamed; he muted the phone before answering. Accepting the role became the start of the most important thing in his life.

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