N.J. ‘Stranger Things’ star finally meets his match — an actor with the same name

Call it the meeting of the Matarazzos.

Two New Jersey pop culture institutions who have the same name recently shared the same air for the first time.

Since 2016, Gaten Matarazzo, 22, has been known for playing Hawkins, Indiana kid Dustin Henderson in “Stranger Things.”

The actor, who grew up in Little Egg Harbor Township, has the same last name as another actor who got her start as a child.

Heather Matarazzo, 42, had her breakout role as Dawn Wiener, an 11-year-old New Jersey middle school student who can’t seem to catch a break.

Matarazzo’s Dawn is the heart of the beloved 1995 movie “Welcome to the Dollhouse” from Jersey’s own writer-director Todd Solondz.

The two Matarazzos are not related.

But that didn’t stop them from taking a selfie upon their first meeting, to much applause from Instagram.

“Finally got to meet my ‘son,’” Heather Matarazzo captioned the photo. “What an absolute delight he is.”

They may not be in the same family, but both Matarazzos can be seen in Netflix shows.

Gaten Matarazzo returns as Dustin in the fifth and final season of Netflix’s “Stranger Things,” which is rolling out in three parts this Thanksgiving Eve, Christmas and New Year’s Eve.

Heather Matarazzo currently has a guest role as Judi Spannagel in the second season of the Netflix series “Wednesday,” starring Jenna Ortega as Wednesday Addams.

Matarazzo’s film roles include Lilly Moscovitz in “The Princess Diaries” (2001) and “The Princess Diaries 2″ (2004) opposite Millburn’s Anne Hathaway.

A “Princess Diaries 3″ is confirmed to be on the way.

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Amy Kuperinsky may be reached at [email protected] and followed at @AmyKup on Twitter/X, @amykup.bsky.social on Bluesky and @kupamy on Instagram and Threads.