Joe Keery

Intro

Joe Keery is an actor known for Steve Harrington in Stranger Things, with other screen roles including Kurt Kunkle in Spree, Keys in Free Guy and Gator Tillman in Fargo. The characters offer sharply different ways into his work: a familiar member of a supernatural-adventure ensemble, a dangerous would-be internet celebrity, a game developer and a figure in a crime anthology. That variety makes the films and later television work useful companions to the long-running role through which many viewers first encountered him.

Career snapshot

Keery trained at DePaul University’s Theatre School, whose commencement record identifies him as a 2014 acting graduate. The school’s production archive also lists him as Lex in The Scavengers, staged in May of that year. Those records place formal theater training and student performance before his best-known screen role. They provide a concrete early chapter without assuming that later celebrity was inevitable: the production lists him as part of a company, working within an ensemble before his television breakthrough.

The entry point

Stranger Things develops Steve from an initially abrasive teenager into a loyal companion to the younger characters. Netflix’s interview with Keery, Gaten Matarazzo and Joseph Quinn focuses on Steve’s friendship with Dustin and the changing dynamic when Eddie enters the group. Keery described the new character as refreshing the ensemble. For a rewatch, that relationship is a useful thread: Steve’s identity becomes clearer through whom he protects, how he responds to a newcomer and the comic friction of friendships that initially seem unlikely.

Screen identity and style

Spree casts Keery as Kurt Kunkle, a rideshare driver whose desire for online attention turns murderous. In a conversation with Finn Wolfhard for Interview, Keery discussed the risk of making the character so funny that viewers might begin rooting for him. He and director Eugene Kotlyarenko developed the role through preparation that included studying online personalities. The actor’s concern gives the film’s comedy a specific tension: Kurt can be awkward and absurd while his behavior remains frightening, so laughter does not erase the consequences of his pursuit of fame.

Collaborations and patterns

That conversation also describes the freedom Kotlyarenko gave actors to make material in character. Keery recalled rehearsing with David Arquette as Kurt’s father, taking their interaction outside the production office while remaining in their roles. This kind of preparation suits a story built around self-recording and performance for an imagined audience. It is a distinct collaboration from returning to a familiar television ensemble, and it helps explain why Spree is an informative comparison for someone who knows Keery chiefly as Steve.

Era reflection

Free Guy offers another contrast. D23’s discussion with director Shawn Levy identifies Keys as Millie’s collaborator in developing a game whose code becomes part of the story’s dispute. Keery appears alongside Jodie Comer and Ryan Reynolds in a comedy that moves between a game world and the people behind it. FX’s Fargo subsequently credits him as Gator Tillman in its fifth installment. Taken together, these roles show work across a studio comedy, an independent thriller and an anthology series, rather than one repeated screen situation.

Legacy and rediscovery

The gallery pairs a 2017 San Diego Comic-Con photograph with a 2026 New York opening-night portrait. Each is a separately credited public appearance, and the later theater-event photograph is not presented as evidence of a stage role. The selected screen credits can guide a compact viewing comparison: Steve’s evolving friendships, Kurt’s distorted pursuit of an audience and Keys’ place in Free Guy’s creative partnership. Returning to those relationships reveals more about the performances than treating Keery’s familiar appearance as the defining feature of every character.

Selected screen roles

• Stranger Things: Steve Harrington — Television series
• Spree: Kurt Kunkle — 2020
• Free Guy: Keys — 2021
• Fargo: Gator Tillman — Year Five

A career in pictures

Distinct 2017 and 2026 event portraits accompany Keery’s selected film and television roles.

New York opening-night portrait (2026)

Public appearance

Keery attending the opening of Other Desert Cities in October 2026, photographed by Philip Romano. This documents attendance, not a performance credit.

San Diego Comic-Con (2017)

Public appearance

Keery speaking at San Diego Comic-Con in July 2017, photographed by Gage Skidmore.

Rewatch notes

• Graduated from DePaul’s acting program in 2014.
• Played Steve Harrington in Stranger Things.
• Played Gator Tillman in Fargo’s fifth installment.