"Was a pizza delivery guy": Stranger Things star Joe Keery opens up about his first job shortly before the hit Netflix show's final season 

The popular Netflix show Stranger Things has made Joe Keery an international celebrity for his portrayal of Steve Harrington on the series. He talked about the formative years of his life prior to fame. A video was released of Joe Keery's interview with Esquire in which he talked about how he became a professional actor from an initial base, and talked about his life before his entry into the entertainment industry.

Joe Keery introduced himself at the beginning of his video and went right into discussing the jobs he took up during his youth. He revealed that his very first job was as a delivery boy for a local paper. He explained,

"First job I ever had, I was uh a paper delivery boy. I took over a neighbor’s paper route. I was probably like maybe 10."

Keery also spoke about his first real job, which was at a restaurant. He said he worked at a place called The Grog. He said,

"My first real job, yeah, was working in a restaurant called the Grog. I was a bus boy. I was a host. And then I was a waiter eventually."

Joe Keery admitted that he was not the best at the job, saying,

"I wasn’t the best. What I, you know, lacked in organizational side of things, I kind of made up for being real with people."

The most interesting moment for many fans was when he mentioned working as a pizza delivery driver. He said,

"First job I ever quit. I was a pizza delivery guy for a summer. Wasn't the greatest pizza delivery guy, I guess, and so I had to quit that."

Joe Keery explained that after this summer job, he went back to school in Chicago. His thoughts are simply and honestly an inside look into the early steps of his life before his character's entry as Steve Harrington in Stranger Things.

Joe Keery talks about early struggles and auditions

In the same interview, Joe Keery also spoke about the struggles he faced while trying to become an actor. He said that he had "tanked so many auditions." He even gave an example about one audition for the show Fargo, saying, "I think about it all the time." He told a story about how the audition took place over video in a hotel room, and he had to redo scenes many times.

"I think we did the tape like 15 or 16 times. It was like a lot."

Even though the audition process was long and stressful, he eventually did book a job. He said,

"I guess I booked a job, so you know, I guess I did something right."

Keery also talked about how he landed his role in Stranger Things. He said it came down to timing, explaining, "It was right place, right time." He added that he had a basic understanding of who the character was. He said that his character was not even a core character in the first season, saying,

"It wasn’t even like really a core character to be honest to the whole thing."

But he said the team was nice enough to add him and write more for him as the show grew. He also said he wanted to be on set as much as possible because he loved working with the cast and directors.

“I just like wanted to be on set as much as possible and loved the brothers and the cast. Like I really was quite invested in it. So I was like I'll do whatever. I just am interested to be here."

Joe Keery's music, mistakes, and moving forward

In the interview, Joe Keery also talked about music and live shows. He said he feels that acting helped his music career. In his words, "They kind of feed off each other." He said that if he gets tired of one, he can switch to the other, and that having two outlets is good for him. He added,

"I really like being creative and making something."

Joe Keery also talked about mistakes during music performances. He shared a moment when his guitar stopped working during a show in Toronto. He said,

"My guitar just didn’t work for the back half of the song. or back half of the set, I mean. And so you're kind of, you know, do I mime this? Do I just put it down? Like you have to focus and like still do stuff."

He briefly mentioned a few of the times he had moments of doubt, saying he has been "very very lucky." He ended the video in a jovial manner by jokingly stating,

"How did I get here? I took the A train."

Trending

As the last chapter of Stranger Things approaches, fans will have an insight into the early years of Joe Keery's journey towards success. Prior to becoming a household name on Netflix, Joe Keery was employed in several very non-glamorous jobs, including delivering newspapers and pizza. With that, he ended by asking fans to catch the latest season of Stranger Things.

×

Was this article helpful?

Thank You for feedback