Gaten Matarazzo has shared new details about his unique living conditions with his fellow Stranger Things actor, Finn Wolfhard, during the final season’s production in Atlanta. Speaking candidly on a recent podcast, Matarazzo discussed the “disgusting” state of their shared space and what the Gaten Matarazzo living experience taught him about friendship and cleanliness.
Inside Gaten Matarazzo and Finn Wolfhard’s Co-Living Adventure
During the filming of Stranger Things’ fifth and last season, Gaten Matarazzo and Finn Wolfhard roomed together for nearly a year. Recalling the time, Matarazzo confessed the chaos of their daily life, reflecting the impact their close friendship had on their approach to tidiness.
“It was a little bit of a college experience,”
Gaten told Jesse Tyler Ferguson on the Nov. 18 episode of the Dinner’s On Me podcast. Their bond, he explained, made it easy to let cleanliness slide, especially after long days on set.
He reflected on the state of their home:
“I would look around three months after we lived together and [be] like, ‘This place is disgusting.’”
As inseparable friends, the two matched each other’s energy for better or worse. Matarazzo elaborated,
“We match each other’s energy a little bit,”
and continued,
“We got along so well and had been so close for so long that we didn’t really hold each other to a standard. So we were like, ‘Ah, f–k it. Whatever, man. We’ll get to it later.’”
Socializing outside their apartment posed new challenges.
“We would plan to go out and somebody would be like, ‘Alright, we’ll meet you at yours,’”
Gaten recalled.
“Both of us would be like, ‘No. Do not come [within] 10 feet [of] our home.’”
However, over time, their habits improved and, most importantly, their friendship remained unscathed by the experiment of living together.
“When you’re moving in with one of your best friends, you never know if you’re going to live together well,”
he explained.
“That could ruin friendships. It ruins a dynamic. If you’re mature enough, you can be like, ‘This isn’t working for us, so for the sake of our friendship, we should end this.’ [But] it was great.”
The Unbreakable Bond of the Stranger Things Cast
With production wrapped, the close connection among the show’s young stars has endured. Millie Bobby Brown, Noah Schnapp, Caleb McLaughlin, Gaten Matarazzo, and Finn Wolfhard have continued to keep in touch. Millie told E! News’ Will Marfuggi,
“We’re always just trying to hangout,”
and added,
“So, it’s always just us going, ‘When can you? Where are you? Where are you in the world?’”
As Stranger Things season five began streaming, fans were treated not just to new episodes but also to a window into the deep friendships that continue off-screen.
Stranger Things: Insights and Trivia from the Series
The legacy of Stranger Things extends beyond its story, with a behind-the-scenes history filled with surprises and unique creative choices. Here’s a look at some compelling facts:
1. Origin of the Series Concept
After working on M. Night Shyamalan’s Fox series Wayward Pines, Matt and Ross Duffer conceptualized Stranger Things, initially naming it Montauk.
“It’s very hard when your brain is latched onto a title, it’s really, really hard to get people to agree and accept another title,”
Matt told The Daily Beast in 2016.
“Initially when we came up with this title Stranger Things, it was hard for people to embrace.”
2. Finding the Show’s Filming Home
The Duffer brothers originally wanted to shoot on Long Island but found winter weather and costs prohibitive. Matt explained to The Hollywood Reporter,
“We liked Montauk, because we liked the coastal setting, and Montauk was the basis for Amity, and Jaws is probably our favorite movie, so I thought that that would be really cool. Then it was really going to be impossible to shoot in or around Long Island in the wintertime. It was just going to be miserable and expensive.”
Ultimately, Atlanta became the show’s production base.
3. A Tough Path to Network Approval
Stranger Things almost didn’t make it to audiences. According to Vulture, nearly 20 networks passed on the project, doubting viewers would connect with a story led by four children.
4. Millie Bobby Brown’s Transformation
To play Eleven, 12-year-old Millie Bobby Brown underwent a major change:
“The day I shaved my head was the most empowering moment of my whole life,”
she shared during PaleyFest in 2018.
“The last strand of hair cut off was the moment my whole face was on show and I couldn’t hide behind my hair like I used to. As I looked in the mirror I realized I had one job to do: inspire…You don’t need hair to be beautiful.”
5. Inspiration Behind Eleven’s Look
Brown emulated Charlize Theron in Mad Max: Fury Road and found cues in Winona Ryder’s yearbook pictures.
“Winona looked cool back in the day with the pixie cut, and I thought maybe I could bring it back!”
she said.
6. Perfecting the American Accent
As a British actress, Brown honed her accent by watching Miley Cyrus on Hannah Montana. During a visit to The Tonight Show she said,
“Like the film, everything. Everything about it is amazing. And I got the American accent.”
7. Casting the Core Kids
The Duffer brothers had young actors audition with scenes from Stand By Me to capture the right spirit for their group of protagonists.
8. Finn Wolfhard’s Unique Approach to Mike
The character Mike evolved after Wolfhard’s audition. Matt told The Daily Beast in 2016,
“Originally Mike was a sigher, he was a dreamer, he was much more like Mikey in The Goonies in a lot of ways. But Finn had this really anxious, twitchy energy about him and we thought that that was really great and we just kind of wrote the character to match him and his personality.”
9. Shaping Dustin’s Role Around Gaten Matarazzo
Gaten Matarazzo’s personality influenced his character. Matt explained,
“I don’t think we really understood who that character was. He started out more like a stereotypical nerd and then we met Gaten and we basically tailored the show to him.”
10. Eggo Waffles’ Rise in Popularity
Following Eleven’s attachment to Eggo waffles, Kellogg’s reported a 14 percent rise in consumption in late 2017 after the show’s second season. October marked a record month for Eggo mentions on social media.
11. David Harbour’s Viral Moments with Fans
In early 2018, David Harbour upheld a social media challenge, agreeing to take a fan’s senior photos after she met his retweet target. He later wrote on Instagram,
“Voted most likely to hijack someone’s high school senior photos 24 years later.”
12. Harbour’s Officiating Adventure
That same year, Harbour took things further, officiating a fan’s wedding after another retweet challenge. True to his word, he performed the marriage ceremony in character as Chief Hopper.
13. Eleven’s Connection to Hopper Highlighted
Fan theories about Eleven being Hopper’s daughter surfaced during the series, but he became her surrogate father. In a touching moment, Eleven wore a blue braided bracelet, crafted from Hopper’s late daughter’s hair ribbon, during her high school dance in the season two finale.
14. Millie Bobby Brown’s Memorable First Kiss
Brown’s kiss with Mike in season one was her first ever.
“Having 250 people looking at you kissing someone is like, ‘Whoa!’”
she shared.
15. The Awkwardness Continues in Season Two
When called to repeat the scene, she recalled her co-star’s quirky approach on The Tonight Show:
“He wanted to let me know he was, like, kissing me then. So he was like, ‘I’m coming in,’ and he was like a ventriloquist! It was the craziest thing.”
16. Private Romances Among Cast Members
Natalia Dyer and Charlie Heaton—Nancy and Jonathan on-screen—started dating in 2016. Natalia told Refinery 29,
“That’s something important to me—with my family, with my friends, I really like to keep it for me,”
but admitted,
“It’s an interesting thing to work with somebody who you go home with. It’s always really fun.”
17. Steve Harrington’s Unexpected Arc
Joe Keery’s Steve was initially intended as a one-season antagonist. Ross told The Hollywood Reporter,
“We fell in love with him during the making of season one, which is why we ended up writing that arc for him where he’s helping to save the day with Jonathan and Nancy. Steve was supposed to be this jocky douchebag, and Joe was so much more than that.”
18. Eleven’s Fate Wasn’t Always Certain
The original plan called for Eleven’s character to sacrifice herself. Ross shared in Stranger Things: Worlds Turned Upside Down,
“Eleven was going to sacrifice herself to save the day. That was always the end game. But once we realized that the show was potentially going to go on longer than one season, we needed to leave it more up in the air, because deep down we knew the show just wouldn’t really work without Eleven. And at that point, we knew how special Millie was. If there was going to be more Stranger Things, Eleven had to come back.”
19. The ‘Lost Sister’ Episode Almost Didn’t Air
The seventh episode of season two nearly got cut, as the Duffers debated whether it negatively impacted the story’s flow.
“When we got to the point of writing the episode, we wanted to see if we really needed it or not,”
Matt explained.
“We actually did toy with pulling the episode completely, but then the ending with Eleven didn’t work at all. It just didn’t land at all. Then we ended up deciding we needed it.”
20. Kali Was Not Always a Sister
Kali, Eleven’s sibling, began as a male character during development. When casting opened to all young actors, Linnea Berthelsen landed the role, leading to a change. Matt said,
“Linnea and Millie really had a connection, Millie was like, ‘I want to do this with Linnea.’”
21. Casting Shifts with Robin’s Character
Bridgerton actress Nicola Coughlan auditioned for Robin but did not land the role, which went to Maya Hawke. Coughlan later said Hawke was
“far better than I ever would have been.”
She added,
“It’s a good lesson to actors: Watch the stuff you didn’t get, because you’ll totally understand how it’s not personal. You’re just right for some things and you’re not right for other things.”
22. Before Outer Banks: Madelyn Cline’s Appearance
Madelyn Cline, who later played Sarah on Outer Banks, appeared in Stranger Things’ second season as Tina, a mean girl at Hawkins High School.
23. Dacre Montgomery’s Audition Pushed Boundaries
To secure the part of Billy, Dacre Montgomery filmed a bold audition tape showcasing his dance moves in minimal attire. He reflected on the risk,
“Either I’m never going to work again, or somebody somewhere is going to see one thing in me, and they’ll give me a chance.”
24. A Major Pay Increase for the Cast
Heading into season three, reports indicate that the younger cast’s earnings jumped from about $30,000 to more than $200,000 per episode. Veteran stars like Winona Ryder and David Harbour earned between $300,000 to $350,000 per episode, while Natalia Dyer and Charlie Heaton took home $100,000 to $150,000 per show.
25. Priah Ferguson’s Rise to Regular
Priah Ferguson was initially slated for only one episode in season two as Erica but quickly became a standout. Her role expanded, and she was made a series regular.
26. Wardrobe Challenges as the Cast Grew
The costume department had to address the cast’s growth spurts across seasons. Costume designer Kim Wilcox told E! News,
“We had one kid we could not keep in shoes, like every three weeks he grew a half-size.”
To keep up, the team sourced clothing from heritage brands and stocked multiple sizes.
“We’d buy five of them so that when somebody grew we’d have something.”
27. Inspirations and Creative Approach
Although Stranger Things borrowed nostalgia from classics like The Goonies and E.T., the creators were careful not to rely too much on references. Matt told The Daily Beast,
“When we billed the project to Netflix, we had this big two-and-a-half-minute trailer that had about 20 or 30 of these movies kind of woven together to try and tell the story of Stranger Things, but obviously all these images or ideas were in our heads. Those are the movies that we grew up on and they’re so much a part of our DNA. But then when you get into the writers’ room and you’re working on individual episodes, actually very little time is spent referencing other movies. Mostly you’re just trying to tell the story, letting the characters guide where everything’s going. Otherwise it would just be a jumble and a mess.”
28. Striving for Practical Effects
The original vision was to use practical special effects, but time and preparation proved challenging. Ross explained,
“The funny thing is that the original goal was to do entirely practical effects. But what we realized—and it really made us admire those guys who did The Thing and Alien and whatever—is that doing practical is really hard. It takes a lot of time and preparation. We were turning out scripts as quickly as we could but they don’t have six months to prep this stuff. You show up on set and stuff that seemed like it would be a great idea to do in that old school way, we didn’t have time to do.”
29. The Five-Season Arc from the Start
Plans for five seasons were always in place. Netflix executive Matthew Thunell explained to Variety,
“So much of what they had in their head in 2015 is what we’re now seeing play out as we come to the end of this series,”
with reports that each episode of season four cost $30 million.
30. A Future Beyond Stranger Things
The Duffer brothers have new creative ambitions, as revealed to Variety:
“We do have an idea for a spin-off that we’re super excited about, but we haven’t told anyone the idea yet, much less written it.”
Despite their secrecy, Finn Wolfhard has reportedly guessed the concept, though Ross and Matt emphasized that,
“Aside from Finn, no one else knows!”
The Impact and What’s Next for the Stranger Things Team
With the conclusion of Stranger Things approaching, its lasting influence on both television storytelling and its actors’ lives is undeniable. The Gaten Matarazzo living experience with Finn Wolfhard highlights the real-life friendships forged amid the pressures of filming such an influential series. As fans await the final episodes and speculate on a possible spin-off, the enduring bonds and behind-the-scenes tales will remain part of the show’s unique legacy.
The final three episodes of Stranger Things season five are set for release on Dec. 25, with the series finale arriving Dec. 31. As the world bids farewell to Hawkins, the series’ cast and creators look toward future projects, ensuring that the Upside Down’s impact will extend for years to come.
