Gaten Matarazzo speaks about genetic disorders

Gaten Matarazzo is starting to raise awareness about the rare genetic disorder that he suffers from. The star from “Stranger Things,” discussed his condition on The Jonathan Ross Show, revealing what it's like to live with cleidocranial dysostosis.

The actor won fans over with his portrayal of the goofball, Dustin, in the sci-fi horror series. The 14-year-old actor revealed that he was born without collarbones, which affects your skull growth, facial growth and teeth. In fact, he has no real teeth and went through a lot of surgeries to deal with all the problems.

The young actor speaks with a lisp, which was embraced by the Duffer Brothers, who created the Netflix thriller. Matarazzo is thrilled that it's a part of the show and that his condition is very mild.

It took Matarazzo about two years to land a role in the acting world having a condition, being rejected from so many jobs is hard and he attributes it to the disability. The show is helping to raise awareness for his condition and he is just thankful that it’s not worse. His condition is not caused by his genes, it just happened.

The masculine name Gaten is the modern version of the name Galen taken from Greek name Galenos that means “calm” and is taken from the Greek word galene. It was first given to the 2nd-century BC physician from the Greco-Roman era, who contributed to medicine and anatomy. Now the name is occasionally given to people in his honor.