Joe Keery facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Joe Keery
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Keery at the 2017 San Diego Comic-Con
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| Born |
Joseph David Keery
April 24, 1992 |
| Education | DePaul University (BFA) |
| Occupation |
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| Years active | 2015–present |
| Musical career | |
| Also known as | Cool Cool Cool |
| Origin | Chicago, Illinois |
| Genres |
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| Instruments |
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| Labels | AWAL |
Joseph David Keery (born April 24, 1992) is an American actor and musician. You might know him best as Joe Keery. In music, he goes by the name Djo (pronounced "Joe").
Joe became very famous for playing Steve Harrington in the popular science fiction show Stranger Things. This show started in 2016 and is still going! He has also starred in the fun movie Free Guy (2021) and the TV crime series Fargo (2023–2024).
As a musician, Joe used to be in a psychedelic rock band called Post Animal. After leaving the band, he started his own solo music career. He has released two studio albums, Twenty Twenty (2019) and Decide (2022). A song from his Decide album, "End of Beginning", became super popular on TikTok in 2024. His third album, The Crux, is planned for release in April 2025.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Joe Keery was born in Newburyport, Massachusetts. He is one of five children. His dad is an architect, and his mom is an English professor.
Joe grew up in Newburyport. He went to River Valley Charter School, which is a Montessori school. He also attended Newburyport High School. When he was young, he joined a performing arts camp. He started acting in high school because his older sister encouraged him.
After high school, Joe studied acting at The Theatre School at DePaul University. He earned a degree in Acting in 2014.
Acting Career
Early Roles
Before he became famous in Stranger Things, Joe Keery appeared in several commercials. These included ads for KFC, Domino's, and Amiibo. He also had small roles in TV shows like Empire and Chicago Fire. His first role in a full movie was in an independent film called Henry Gamble's Birthday Party.
Starring in Stranger Things
Joe's biggest role came when he was cast as Steve Harrington in the Netflix sci-fi series Stranger Things. He first tried out for a different character, Jonathan. But then he sent in a video for the role of Steve. The show first aired in 2016 and was a huge hit!
For the second season of Stranger Things, Joe became a main cast member. The third and fourth seasons were released in 2019 and 2022.
Other Film and TV Projects
While working on Stranger Things, Joe also acted in other movies. He starred in the 2020 movie Spree. He also played Walter "Keys" McKey in the 2021 action-comedy movie Free Guy. This movie was very successful at the box office.
In 2022, he was cast in the sci-fi action movie Cold Storage. He also joined the cast of the fifth season of Fargo as Gator Tillman.
Music Career
Besides acting, Joe Keery is also a talented musician. When he was younger, he released music under the name "Cool Cool Cool." He was a guitarist and drummer for a band from Chicago called Post Animal. Their first album came out in 2015. Joe played guitar and sang on their second album, When I Think Of You In A Castle, released in 2018. By 2019, he stopped touring with the band because of his acting schedule.
Solo Music as Djo
On July 19, 2019, Joe started releasing music as a solo artist under the name Djo. His first song was "Roddy." He released another song, "Chateau (Feel Alright)," in August 2019.
On September 13, 2019, Djo released his first album, Twenty Twenty. Music critics praised the album. They said his music was "inventive" and "psychedelic," comparing it to bands like Tame Impala.
In 2022, Djo released his second album, Decide. This album also received good reviews. In 2024, one of the songs from Decide, "End of Beginning", became extremely popular. It went viral on social media, especially TikTok. Joe Keery's third album, The Crux, is set to be released in April 2025.
Personal Life
Joe Keery dated actress Maika Monroe from 2017 to 2023.
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Henry Gamble's Birthday Party | Gabe | ||
| 2016 | The Charnel House | Scott | ||
| 2017 | Molly's Game | Trust Fund Cole | ||
| 2018 | After Everything | Chris | ||
| Slice | Jackson | |||
| 2019 | How to Be Alone | Jack / The Gimp | Short film | |
| 2020 | Spree | Kurt Kunkle | ||
| 2021 | Free Guy | Walter "Keys" McKeys | ||
| 2023 | Finalmente l'alba | Sean Lockwood | ||
| 2024 | Marmalade | Baron | ||
| Pavements | Stephen Malkmus | |||
| TBA | Cold Storage | Travis Meacham |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Sirens | Scenester | Episode: "Screw the One Percent" | |
| Chicago Fire | Emmett | 2 episodes | ||
| Empire | Tony Trichter III | Episode: "Who I Am" | ||
| 2016–present | Stranger Things | Steve Harrington | Recurring role (season 1) Main role (season 2–present) |
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| 2019–2021 | No Activity | Officer Ed Reinhardt | Recurring role (season 3–4) | |
| 2020 | Death to 2020 | Duke Goolies | Television special | |
| 2021 | Death to 2021 | |||
| 2023-2024 | Fargo | Gator Tillman | Main role (season 5) |
Discography
Studio Albums
| Title | Album Details | Peak Chart Positions | Certifications | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US |
US Rock |
CAN |
GER |
HUN |
NLD |
UK Down. |
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| Twenty Twenty | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| Decide | 56 | 11 | 35 | 35 | 32 | 10 | 93 |
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| The Crux |
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colspan="8" To be released | |||||||
| "—" means the album did not chart or was not released in that country. | |||||||||
Extended Plays (EPs)
| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| D-Sides |
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Singles
| Title | Year | Peak Chart Positions | Certifications | Album | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US |
AUS |
CAN |
IRE |
NLD |
NOR |
NZ |
SWE |
UK |
WW |
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| "Roddy" | 2019 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Twenty Twenty | |
| "Chateau (Feel Alright)" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
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| "Mortal Projections" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Keep Your Head Up" | 2020 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | non-album single | |
| "Change" | 2022 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Decide | |
| "Gloom" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Figure You Out" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Half Life" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "End of Beginning" | 2024 | 11 | 3 | 9 | 4 | 12 | 3 | 3 | 13 | 4 | 3 | ||
| "Basic Being Basic" | 2025 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | The Crux | |
| "—" means the single did not chart or was not released in that country. | |||||||||||||
Awards and Nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Screen Actors Guild Awards | Best Performance by a Group in a Drama Series | Stranger Things | Won | |
| 2018 | Nominated | ||||
| 2020 | Nominated |
Tours
- Back on You World Tour (2025)
See also
In Spanish: Joe Keery para niños
