Gaten Matarazzo, best known as Dustin in Stranger Things, is making his West End debut as Mark in a new production of Rent. He says the musical’s themes of capitalism, media saturation, friendship and the HIV/Aids crisis remain highly relevant, while acknowledging that his television fame may have helped him secure the role.

Matarazzo has been performing in musical theatre since childhood, making his Broadway debut at nine and later appearing in Les Misérables, Dear Evan Hansen and Sweeney Todd. Stranger Things ran for five seasons over almost a decade, ending on 1 January 2026, and he describes its success as a difficult-to-leave “train” that transformed his previously ordinary childhood into life as a global child star.