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Joe Keery
American actor and musician (born 1992) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Joseph David Keery (born April 24, 1992[A]), also known professionally in music as Djo, is an American actor and musician.[3] He first became known for playing Steve Harrington in the science fiction series Stranger Things (2016–present), and has since starred in the comedy film Free Guy (2021) and in the fifth season of the crime comedy-drama series Fargo (2023–2024). Musically, he is most known for the song "End Of Beginning" after it went viral on TikTok in 2024.
As a musician, Keery was a founding member of the psychedelic rock band Post Animal, but left the band in 2018 due to acting commitments. Following his departure from the band, he embarked on a solo career, and released the studio albums Twenty Twenty (2019) and Decide (2022) as Djo. The latter spawned the sleeper hit and his first Billboard Hot 100 entry, "End of Beginning", after it became viral on TikTok in 2024. Djo's third album, The Crux, was released in 2025.[4] Keery also rejoined Post Animal for the album IRON that year,[5] and headlined the Back on You World Tour, with Post Animal as the openers.
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Early life
Keery was born in Newburyport, Massachusetts, the second of five children.[6] He attended River Valley Charter School, a local Montessori elementary and middle school, and Newburyport High School.[7] When he was young, he participated in Theater in the Open, a performing arts camp at Maudslay State Park. He acted during high school at his older sister's insistence.[8][9]
Keery studied at The Theatre School at DePaul University in Chicago, graduating in 2014 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting.[10][11]
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Career
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Acting
Before his breakout role in Stranger Things, Keery appeared in KFC, Domino's, and Amiibo commercials,[12] and had roles in Empire and Chicago Fire.[10][13] His first appearance in a full-length film was in Stephen Cone's indie, Henry Gamble's Birthday Party.[10]
Keery's breakthrough role was as Steve Harrington in the Netflix sci-fi series Stranger Things. He was cast in late 2015; having initially auditioned for the role of Jonathan, he later sent in a tape for his character, Steve.[14] The show premiered in 2016 to critical acclaim. He was promoted from recurring cast to a series regular for the second season of Stranger Things.[15] The third and fourth seasons were released in 2019 and 2022, respectively.
Since beginning Stranger Things, Keery has also acted in a few independent movies, including starring in the 2020 satire film, Spree. He also played the role of Walter "Keys" McKey,[16] a game developer, in the 2021 action comedy film Free Guy, which went on to become a major box-office hit.[17] In May 2022, he was cast opposite Liam Neeson in the sci-fi action film Cold Storage.[18] In August 2022, he was cast as Gator Tillman in the fifth season of Fargo.[19] In 2025, he voiced John Greenwood in the PBS documentary mini-series The American Revolution.[20]
Music
In addition to acting, Keery is also a musician. In his early twenties, he released music under the name "Cool Cool Cool."[21][22]
From 2015 to 2018, Keery was a drummer, guitarist, and vocalist for Chicago-based garage and psych-rock band Post Animal.[23] Keery originally contributed drums on their first EP, Post Animal Perform The Most Curious Water Activities (2015), before current drummer Wesley Toledo joined during their second EP, The Garden Series (2016). Their debut full-length album, When I Think Of You In A Castle, was released in April 2018 and saw Keery performing guitar and vocals.[24] Keery stopped touring with the band in 2017, and by 2018, officially left the bands lineup due to acting commitments, stating in a Bustle interview, "It’s important to disassociate Steve from Stranger Things to the band because I think it will eventually hurt the band... I think it's important that they're hitting the pavement for a while and making a name for themselves and it's not necessarily associated with Stranger Things."[25][26]
On July 19, 2019, Keery self-released the single "Roddy" as a solo artist under the moniker Djo.[27] Keery released a second single on August 9, 2019, titled "Chateau (Feel Alright)" under the same moniker.[28] On September 13, 2019, Keery released his debut album as Djo, Twenty Twenty.[29] In a positive review of the album, NME called Keery "a musician of very high calibre who... dabbles in the kind of inventive, warped psychedelia that gently twists your melon and constantly shapeshifts around you," and compared his music to that of Tame Impala and Ariel Pink.[30]
On September 9, 2020, he released a new single, "Keep Your Head Up".[31] In 2022, he took part in a summer music festival tour. His second album Decide was announced in June 2022, along with the release of its first single "Change".[32][33] The album was released on September 16, 2022, and received positive reviews.[34] In 2024, the sixth track of the album, "End of Beginning", was released as a single after gaining popularity and becoming viral on social media.[35]
On April 4, 2025, Keery released his third album, The Crux, which was preceded by the singles "Basic Being Basic",[36] "Delete Ya", and "Potion". The album was well received, and the album cover, credited under art director William Wesley II, was nominated for the 2026 Grammy's Award for Best Album Cover.[37]
Djo went on the Back On You World Tour to promote the album, bringing Post Animal along as openers for the majority of show dates. On May 2, the tour was extended with the Another Bite tour, a second leg that mostly covered the United States. During the tour, Post Animal announced their new album IRON along with Keery's re-joining of the band for the album. IRON was preceded by three singles, "Last Goodbye", "Pie in the Sky", and "What's a Good Life", before releasing on July 25, 2025.
In September 2025, Djo released the singles "Carry The Name", "It's Over", and "Awake" before surprise releasing The Crux (Deluxe) on September 12, with the rerelease functioning as a fourth album featuring 12 new tracks written at the same time as The Crux.[38][39]
On November 4, 2025, Djo announced another tour in South America and Mexico for March 2026.[40][B]
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Personal life
Keery was in a relationship with actress Maika Monroe from 2017 to 2023.[41]
Filmography
Film
Television
Music videos
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Discography
Studio albums
Extended plays
Singles
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Accolades
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Tours
- Back on You World Tour (2025)
Notes
- The announcement was made through the Instagram account "Djocorp", which is an official updates account that fans received a link to through Djo's mailing list. The post was later shared to Djo's story on his main account.
- Decide did not enter the UK Albums Chart, but peaked at number 93 on the UK Album Downloads Chart.[55]
- "Basic Being Basic" did not enter the NZ Top 40 Singles Chart, but peaked at number 11 on the NZ Hot Singles Chart.[72]
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References
External links
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