Gaten Matarazzo, the star of the Netflix hit Stranger things has remained vocal about his experiences with cleidocranial dysplasia (CDC).
“My experience with cleidocranial dysplasia was honestly pretty good. I have a very mild case of it and it didn’t really lead to me being bullied or anything,” he said. Health insight.
Gaten continued, “It has benefited me in many ways because it actually started my acting career. It has given me the opportunity to talk about it without being ashamed of it. I can still do the same things that a lot of other kids do and I can’t say the same about other people who have this condition.”
“Fortunately, my case is very mild and I can live like a normal child, but not everyone who has the condition can, and that is why I am talking about it, because many people are not as fortunate as I am,” he further said, expressing his gratitude.
He was also asked if his cleidocranial dysplasia affected his career, to which the 23-year-old replied: “Pretty much every part I’ve booked is because of the condition. It affects me in some way – whether it’s my height or my teeth, or whether it makes me look younger.”
“Hopefully I can evolve from that and not only get roles because of the condition, but I can also play roles that don’t have a physical disability or anything like that. I can play someone that is not associated with the condition,” Gaten Matarazzo concluded.
CDC is a condition that affects the development of bones and teeth and in some cases can lead to symptoms such as underdevelopment of the collarbones, abnormal tooth development and reduced bone density.
Gaten Matarazzo has taken to social media to share details about the condition (including the sometimes costly surgeries required to address it) and has even collaborated with the makers of Stranger things to incorporate it into the storyline of his character, Dustin, who also has CDC.
