Stranger Things star Joe Keery, who plays Steve Harrington on the show, opened up about the iconic series, his early life, his musical career and other things in The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, where he appeared as a guest on Monday, July 18. He also spoke about his sister's influence in his life and how she encouraged him to take up acting.
Joe Keery's portrayal of Steve Harrington has received widespread critical acclaim and his character enjoys a massive fan following. Read further to find out more details about the actor and what he revealed about his early life during the interview with Jimmy Fallon.
3 things we know about Joe Keery after his interview on Jimmy Fallon's show
1) Joe Keery worked as a waiter in his early days
Joe Keery told Jimmy Fallon that prior to his breakout role as Steve Harrington in Stranger Things, he worked as a waiter. Describing himself as a ''pretty charismatic'' waiter, he further mentioned that he first auditioned for Stranger Things during that time did not receive any response.
Three months later, he got a call for the role of Steve Harrington. He recalled sharing the exciting news of being cast in the show with his friend, Matt Williams, who'd worked with him at the restaurant. He also said that he didn't think he would make it past the first season of the show.
2) Keery's sister influenced him to take up acting
Keery spoke at length about how his sister Caroline had encouraged him to take up acting during his freshman year in high school. Acknowledging her impact in his life, he revealed that she was part of the stage crew when he was a freshman in high school. He said:
''And I was gonna sleep in and skip and miss the stage crew thing, but she was like, ''come on, get up'', you know, and sort of brought me along, and got me into it [acting]."
Keery has three other sisters apart from Caroline.
3) There is a specific reason why Joe Keery picked Djo as his stage name
Keery, who began his career as a musician, spoke about the reason behind choosing Djo as his stage name. Owing to the similarities in pronunciation, he said he picked Djo because:
''It's connected to me, but it's not, you know, directly connected to me...(that) was the idea.''
Towards the end, Keery announced that his second album, titled Decide, will be releasing on September 16, 2022. Keery established his solo music career with the 2019 album, Twenty Twenty. He was earlier part of a band called Post Animal.
He later spoke about the influence of legendary entertainer Andy Kaufman and also mentioned that he intends to balance his acting and music career.
Joe Keery as Steve Harrington in Stranger Things and his other works
Joe Keery portrays the role of Steve Harrington in Stranger Things. One of the most beloved characters in the series, Harrington's evolution has been a major highlight of the show. Keery won the award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series at the Screen Actors Guild Awards in 2017.
Keery's character enjoys a massive fan following across the globe. Ahead of the release of Vol. 2 of Stranger Things Season 4, Netflix shared an image of a billboard which read ''Protect Steve'' triggering anxiety among fans of the show on Twitter, who feared that the character might be killed off.
Apart from Stranger Things, Kerry has also appeared in quite a few television shows over the years, including Chicago Fire, No Activity, and many more. His film credits include Spree, Free Guy, Slice, After Everything, and many more.