Gaten Matarazzo

“My friends are pretty used to me being an actor, and the ones who have known me for a long time don't make too big of a deal out of it.”

“I'm a kid who grew up in a small town and started acting when he was seven for no reason and got lucky. Sometimes it can be a little overwhelming. I feel like some people, especially child stars, act out because they don't know how to handle the pressure.”

“The most surreal moment might have been meeting President Obama. It was really cool, actually; they, like, announced us into the room. There was a man in a uniform who announced all our names in a booming voice, and we walk in, and there's the president.”

“Unless people are in the shoes of a child actor, they don't realise how difficult it can be at times. I definitely enjoy what I'm doing, though.”

“I miss Broadway! I'm still a theatre kid, don't worry!”

“I love when people stop and talk to me, because the people are always so nice.”

“I started acting when I was seven, and I didn't get my first role till I was nine. So for two years, I was just auditioning.”

“I have never fanned out at all, actually. I mean, there's only a few people that I have fanned out about before: Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, pretty much anyone from 'Star Wars.' But I don't usually fan out at all, just because they're all people just doing their jobs. It's exciting because they do very good work!”

“For me, cleidocranial dysplasia was something that just spontaneously happened. Nobody in my family has it. It doesn't really hinder me at all. Obviously, I'm still able to do the things I love.”

“I love working in theater because it's such a challenge to have the audience right there in front of you. If you mess up, you have to figure it out and keep going. There's no take two! I do hope to return to the stage someday. I really love to sing.”

“When I was younger, I definitely thought musical theater was sort of more pure than film. I used to say I'd never go to film because we had to get it right the first time in musical theater. But then, of course, I started doing film and realized I loved it. Keep in mind that I was 8 years old when I said that.”

“College is something I've always said I wanted to do, but you're going there to get a piece of paper that says you can get a job, but if I'm already working steadily and doing good work, it makes you question your priorities. Right now, I'm in my own film college: filming a TV show.”

“In the Broadway world, I've always wanted to play Valjean in 'Les Mis', since I've already played Gavroche. I'd also like to play the Phantom of the Opera, but I haven't really thought about any film characters. You've got to have a whole lot of training for the Phantom role, vocally.”

“Kids are so accustomed to technology that it's upsetting to watch them without their phones. They don't know what to do. Sometimes I feel like I'm like that, too - if I get my phone taken away because I'm grounded, I don't know what to do. So I just have to sit in my room and stare blankly at the ceiling.”

“It's great to have a good relationship with the directors and learn about things you do with cameras, and how you direct.”

“I started doing theater, musical theater, because of my sister. She's a singer; she's an actress, too.”

“I was like, 'I'm only going to do musical theater for the rest of my life. I'm never going to do TV.' And whenever I'd get auditions for TV, I'd be like, 'Okay, whatever. I've got a lisp, so they're not going to take me.' And then I started doing this, and I guess it was my sister that got me into the acting thing.”