Working with the family! With much of film and television production still temporarily shut down amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Gaten Matarazzo has had to find other employment this summer.
The 17-year-old Stranger Things star has taken a gig as a food runner at a restaurant on Long Beach Island, New Jersey, where some of his family members also work. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the Prank Encounters actor is taking the proper precautions while bringing food to customers and was spotted by some eagle-eyed patrons wearing a hat and a cloth mask that covered much of his face.
Matarazzo’s rep confirmed the temporary gig, which came about five months after production on Stranger Things season 4 was shut down due to the health crisis.
Prior to the production pause, Matarazzo, who plays Dustin Henderson on the series, traveled to Atlanta for the first table read of the new season. Much of the hit Netflix show’s cast was also on hand for the event, which occurred weeks before production was halted.
In a YouTube video shared by Netflix on March 3, Matarazzo, David Harbour, Winona Ryder, Finn Wolfhard, Millie Bobby Brown, Noah Schnapp, Caleb McLaughlin, Natalia Dyer, Charlie Heaton, Maya Hawke, Sadie Sink, Joe Keery and more members of the cast were spotted greeting one another and thumbing through new scripts.
“Oh my god, it’s happening” 18-year-old Sink, who plays Max Mayfield, said in the clip. “We are at the Stranger Things season 4 table read.”
Though many details of the upcoming fourth season of the show have been kept under wraps, a teaser released in February confirmed that Jim Hopper (played by 45-year-old Harbour) is still very much alive even though it seemed like he died in the season 3 finale.
Sean Astin, who portrayed Bob Newby, the love interest of Ryder’s character, Joyce Byers, in season 2, told Us Weekly exclusively earlier this month that he hopes Jim and Joyce will end up together. “I’ve shipped them since the beginning,” the 49-year-old declared.
Though Astin’s character was killed off when he was attacked by Demodogs while trying to escape the Hawkins Lab in the second season, the Rudy star has fond memories of working on the show. “Winona is a revelation,” he told Us of his 48-year-old costar. “I loved every second working with her. Her body of work is magical. I just can’t say enough how much I admire her.”
