Living with your best friend sounds like a dream come true—until laundry piles up and dishes take over the sink.
Gaten Matarazzo recently opened up about his real-life roommate experience with Stranger Things costar Finn Wolfhard during filming of the show’s final season.
The actor revealed hilarious details about their messy living situation on Jesse Tyler Ferguson’s podcast Dinner’s on Me.
Spoiler alert: it wasn’t all Netflix and chill.
From Broadway Kid to Roommate Life
Matarazzo, who landed his role as Dustin Henderson when he was only 12 years old, spent a full year living with Wolfhard while shooting the final season. The Broadway veteran described their cohabitation as something unexpected for two young actors wrapping up a show that defined their teenage years.
I would look around, like, three months after we were living together and be like, ‘This place is disgusting. What are we doing?’
What started as contained chaos in their individual bedrooms eventually spread like wildfire throughout their shared space.
The Mess That United Them
When Ferguson pressed Matarazzo about which roommate deserved the “messy” title, the Honor Society star admitted they were equally guilty.
Kind of matched each other’s energy.
Their mutual disregard for cleanliness created a perfectly balanced disaster. Laundry mountains grew taller by the day. Dirty dishes formed architectural wonders in the kitchen sink.
Neither actor felt compelled to hold his roommate accountable—which meant neither held himself accountable either.
When Reality Hit Hard
The wake-up call came when friends expressed interest in visiting. Suddenly, Matarazzo and Wolfhard realized their living space wasn’t exactly guest-ready.
Both of us would be like, ‘No. Do not come 10 feet to our home.’
That embarrassing moment sparked a change. The longtime friends eventually cleaned up their act—literally—as their lease drew to a close.
College Experience Without the Cafeteria
Matarazzo compared their living arrangement to a college experience, which makes perfect sense. Two young adults navigating independence for the first time, learning household management through trial and error (mostly error), all while filming one of television’s biggest shows.
Despite initial doubts about their compatibility as roommates, Matarazzo said the experience was “so much fun.” Living with one of his best friends during such a monumental project created memories that extended beyond the soundstage.
Finishing Stranger Things while sharing a home made their final season together bittersweet in ways that extended beyond saying goodbye to their characters.
The Final Goodbye to Hawkins
After years of fighting Demogorgons and navigating the Upside Down, the Stranger Things cast is bidding farewell to Hawkins, Indiana. Season five marks the end of this cultural phenomenon that launched when its young stars were barely teenagers.
Here’s how fans can experience the finale:
- First four episodes dropped November 26 on Netflix
- Three additional episodes premiere Christmas Day, December 25
- Two-hour series finale debuts December 31
- Special theatrical screenings in 350 U.S. and Canadian theaters starting December 31
Show creators the Duffer Brothers expressed excitement about giving fans a chance to experience their conclusion on the big screen.
Getting to see it on the big screen, with incredible sound, picture, and a room full of fans, feels like the perfect — dare we say bitchin’ — way to celebrate the end of this adventure.
Growing Up in Front of Millions
For Matarazzo, Wolfhard, and their castmates, Stranger Things represented more than just a job. Matarazzo described it as their high school—a place where they grew up, formed lifelong friendships, and learned life lessons both on and off camera.
That year of messy roommate life? Just another chapter in their unique coming-of-age story.
Living together while filming their final goodbye to characters they’d inhabited since childhood added layers of nostalgia and growth to an already emotional experience.
Sometimes the best memories come from the messiest moments—whether that’s battling interdimensional monsters or simply learning how often you actually need to do laundry.