'Stranger Things' star Gaten Matarazzo opens up about his genetic condition

"I just wanted to raise awareness for it."
 By 
Sam Haysom
 on 
Original image replaced with Mashable logo

LONDON -- Gaten Matarazzo has spoken at length about his genetic condition during an appearance on last week's Jonathan Ross Show.

The actor, who won the hearts of pretty much everyone with his performance as Dustin in Netflix's hit series Stranger Things, explained that he was born with something called Cleidocranial Dysplasia -- a genetic condition which impacts the growth of teeth and bones.

"It's a condition where you're born without your collar bones -- I don't have any," explained Matarazzo. "It affects your facial growth, your skull growth... it affects your teeth... that's why I don't have any, these are fake, right here."

Here's the clip in full.

Matarazzo said that in speaking about his condition, he hopes to raise people's awareness.

"I have a really mild case, and a lot of people have it much worse than I do," he continued. "And I feel like putting it into the show is really raising awareness for it.

"I just wanted to raise awareness for it and let people know it's not something they should be afraid of showing."

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Sam Haysom

Sam Haysom is the Deputy UK Editor for Mashable. He covers entertainment and online culture, and writes horror fiction in his spare time.

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