“Oh man, The jerky boyfriend”: When Joe Keery admitted he thought Steve would die in Stranger Things Season 1

One of the unforgettable characters of Stranger Things is Steve Harrington, played by Joe Keery, the clichéd high school heartthrob in all ways except one (who later became a sweet bat-wielding big brother to all our hearts).

Since Stranger Things debuted on Netflix in 2016, it has become a cultural phenomenon — the trifecta of supernatural excitement, '80s nostalgia, and a horde of teens dealing with terrifying celestial beings all wrapped up in one amazing package.

In his own body, Joe Keery is probably the fan favourite of Stranger Things and already has a Steve redemption arc set up as billboards say “Protect Steve.” Back on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Joe Keery discusses what it was like to become an overnight sensation, the mentors who brought him here, and next steps both on screen and stage.

Sisterly support and Joe Keery's unlikely start

The conversation kicked off with a warm story about his sister (Caroline), who turned 29 before her birthday last year. His first major introduction to the industry was during his high school years, and he would eventually be pushed by Caroline to join the stage crew. He began moulding his performance as a performer/storyteller.

“Yeah I was probably, like, a freshman in high school, and she was a part of, like, a stage crew. You know, sound and lights. And I was gonna sleep in and skip and just miss the stage crew thing, but she was like, “ come on, get up”, you know, and sort of brought me along. And you know yeah. Got me into it yeah.”

He was working service jobs before he landed the role that made him a breakout Steve Harrington. He shared funny and relatable anecdotes about his time as a restaurant waiter, humbly claiming to be “a good waiter.” Thanks to his delivery and personality, even if he lacked organisational skills.

Joe Keery never expected to make it past Season One

What came next was a surprise to Keery. Describing the time when he first got the role, he said:

"3 months later, got a callback for some different role, for Steve, and I was like “Oh, man, the jerky boyfriend? Okay, whatever. And sent that in, yeah.""

When offered the part in Stranger Things, he believed Steve Harrington would be a one-season TV role. Keery laughed, admitting to how little he had predicted the show would last or his own involvement. Adding further:

"You didn't think you were going to make it past season one? Yeah, the brothers wrote, you know, I read one, maybe, episode of the show, two episodes, and it was kind of like a, we did, we read three episodes, and then they had two more, and stuff, so it was really, they were building it out day to day. It was day to day for you? It was day to day."

In a candid interview moments after this interview, Keery describes how the sheer popularity of Stranger Things felt surreal.

"We did some press, my other sister Lizzie came with me and we did some press in Italy, which was like, I had gone in high school, it was a trip, pretty cool high school trip actually. That's a story for another day. But we went into the press and we were kind of walking down the street and there was, we were walking and this little Italian girl, someone clocked me, I could tell, and then I just heard her go, stranger things, from behind. It's like, wow, oh my gosh, she's got a different accent to hear stranger things. Stranger things, Lizzie, let's go, come on, wow. This is actually becoming giant. Exactly, yeah, you kind of, you know, it feels like such a small thing when you're doing it down there, when you're shooting and working. Yeah, and then to see the final product. So many people are seeing it, it's crazy."

From Steve Harrington to Rock Star

Keery also released music as Djo aside from acting. Talking about his band and if it means something, he said:

"Nah, I just thought I wanted to put it out. It's connected to me, but it's not, you know, directly connected to me. Was it confusing? It confuses people all the time. People say, DJ, you know, all sorts of things. DJ, uh-oh!"

He also announced his new album, Decide (released on September 16, 2022). He talked about his excitement (or nerves) for playing in Lollapalooza and gave some context to his stage persona, with the inspiration coming from Andy Kaufman. With it, he can not only combine his acting skills with his musical side in a unique performance for the fans, but also do so in a theatrical “twist.”

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"That's the idea. Just keep doing that, and that'll kind of be fueled by acting stuff."

Keery made it clear that going forward in his career, he actually wants both acting and music.

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