Gaten Matarazzo says the fan response to Stranger Things was the part of the show that stayed with him most. In an interview tied to his upcoming animated film Animal Farm, the actor said people came up to him on a day-to-day basis to tell him the series meant a lot to them, and that the reaction was "the most flattering feeling in the world."
Matarazzo said it was rare to work on something that mattered so much to so many people, especially one that prompted such constant feedback. He said the response ranged from emotional praise to the bizarre, including fans getting tattoos of his face and 40-year-olds telling him, "I've had a crush on you since you were 13."
The remarks came during a Brit + Co interview promoting Animal Farm, an animated film based on George Orwell's novel that also stars Iman Vellani and is scheduled for theaters on May 1, 2026. The setting gave Matarazzo a chance to look back on the run that made Dustin one of the show’s most recognizable figures, and on the audience attachment that followed him beyond the series itself.
He also addressed one of the more persistent Stranger Things fan fixations: the relationship between Dustin and Steve. Matarazzo said he did not know why viewers latched onto that pairing more than others, but he was glad they did because it meant he got to work with Joe more. "Working with Joe specifically is always a blast," he said.
That is the lasting measure of Stranger Things for Matarazzo. The show was not just a hit that built a large audience; it became one of those rare projects that audiences kept returning to with personal stories, and he says that is what he valued most. The fascination with Dustin and Steve, the tattoos and the crush confessions all point to the same thing: the series reached people in a way its cast could feel every day.
