Joe Keery was one of the honoured guests at the 30th FACTS convention in Ghent, Belgium. Every guest holds a panel where fans can ask all the questions they always wanted to know. From favourite moments to crazy fan theories. Here's what Joe Keery let slip. Be careful as there are spoilers ahead.
Joe Keery might not have many credits to his name, but two years ago he quickly rose to fame due to his breakout role as Steve Harrington in the Netflix Original series Stranger Things. What started out as a recurring character in season 2 quickly became a fan favourite and Keery was promoted to series regular for season 2.
Stranger Things became an immediate success, a phenomenon that doesn’t happen to every show. “You never really know if it’s going to be a thing or not,” said Keery. “I figured people that were into the referenced shows and movies would be into it, but in the end you have to see. I personally didn’t watch it until it came out on Netflix.” Going into season 2, the show was a worldwide success. “I knew it was going to be different. Before we started filming I was nervous, but once we started it went away. It was like going to camp,” he jokes. “It’s summer, a bunch of little kids running around. It was a stress-free environment.”
Like many actors before him, Keery can’t choose a favourite scene. Choosing a hardest scene turns out to be difficult too. “They’re all really fun honestly,” he says. “But I have to go with Nancy breaking up with Steve in the bathroom. You’re doing the same scenes for several hours, so you have to be in that negative mindset for hours on end.”
Playing the character of Steve came quite naturally to Keery. Even though he is not a teenager anymore, it hasn’t been that long since he was in high school. “I based him off people I knew in high school. It did help that my sisters were in high school when we were filming Stanger Things,” he says. “I’d ask them what was going on in their group of friends.”
A lot more preparation didn’t happen mentally, physically on the other hand. “In the first season the Duffer Brothers made Steve a swimmer and as it is the 80’s that meant wearing Speedos,” he explains. “I worked in a cheeseburger restaurant in Chicago and I didn’t want to look like Marshmallow man wearing Speedos, so that meant working out. But when filming started the Duffer brothers said they cut the swimming part four weeks earlier.”
Steve’s personality changed between season 1 and 2: from Steve being all about Steve to caring about others and creating the Dad!Steve personae. “I didn’t know the full extent of Steve’s arc,” tells Keery. “The budding relationship with Dustin didn’t come up until halfway filming. The Duffer Brothers were still writing scripts during filming. Part of the characters is based on the performances and what they get from the actors. Gaten (Matarazzo) and I get along well. The kids are so much fun.”
It is very likely that Dad!Steve pops up again in season three. “But honestly, I don’t know anything about season 3. They could ship me off to Guam and I wouldn’t know.”
Steve is part of a love-triangle between himself, Nancy and Jonathan. If he wasn’t part of the show, Keery would be rooting for Jancy (Jonathan and Nancy). “It’s hard to distance yourself from the show. Although I believe Nancy doesn’t need a boyfriend to succeed.”
Besides his sad love life, Steve isn’t so lucky in a fight. “It’s in my contract,” he jokes. “Must get beaten up every season.” Unfortunately for Keery, not without a few injuries in real life. The season one fight with Jonathan left him with a broken nose after Charlie Heaton punched him.
Keery, who’d love to play Eleven or Hopper if he had the choice, also admires the technical side of filming Stranger Things. “Everything to do with the Upside Down doesn’t get enough appreciation if you ask me,” he says. The Demogorgon is played by a man in a suit in season 1. Something that was not the case with the season two demo-dogs. “As an actor it’s hard because you want it to look real, even though there is nothing at the time.”
After season 1, a lot of fans speculated that Steve Harrington might be the father of Jean-Ralphio Saperstein of Parcs and Recreation because they look very much alike. Something both Joe Keery and Ben Schwartz, who plays Saperstein, like to play along with on James Corden . “It was so much fun to do. I am a huge fan of Ben’s.”
Stranger Things is no stranger to shocking deaths, just ask Barb or Bob. Should death come calling at Steve Harrington’s door, Keery knows how he’d want to go. “Something insane!” he laughs. “Spontaneously combusting or something cool.”
Joe Keery, who doesn’t have to worry about demo-dogs, love-triangles or babysitting, spends his writing music and cooking: “If you love to eat, you need to know how to make the food.” Due to his acting responsibilities, he isn’t able to tour with his psych-rock band Post Animal anymore, but he still likes to write and record music.
Stranger Things season 3 will air on Netflix in 2019.
