Joe Keery

Joseph David Keery is an American actor and musician who also records under the stage name Djo. He gained international recognition for playing Steve Harrington in the science-fiction series Stranger Things. His other notable screen work includes the feature films Spree and Free Guy, along with the fifth season of Fargo.

Keery was born in April 1992 in Newburyport, Massachusetts, the second of five children. He attended Newburyport High School and participated in Theater in the Open at Maudslay State Park. Encouraged by his older sister, he acted in school productions before studying at The Theatre School at DePaul University in Chicago. He graduated in 2014 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in acting.

Early in his career, Keery appeared in commercials for KFC, Domino's, and Amiibo, as well as episodes of Empire and Chicago Fire. He made his feature film debut in Henry Gamble's Birthday Party (2015). Later that year, he was cast as Steve Harrington in Stranger Things, which premiered in 2016. He was promoted to a main series regular starting with its second season.

Keery subsequently starred in the satirical film Spree (2020) and played game developer Keys in the comedy Free Guy (2021). He was cast in the sci-fi film Cold Storage and played Gator Tillman in Fargo (2023–2024). In 2024, he portrayed Steven Malkmus and himself in Pavements, and in 2025, he voiced John Greenwood in the PBS documentary miniseries The American Revolution.

As a musician, Keery initially released material as Cool Cool Cool before co-founding the psychedelic rock band Post Animal in 2014. He performed as a drummer, guitarist, and vocalist on their early EPs and 2018 debut album, When I Think of You in a Castle. He departed in 2018 due to acting commitments and a desire to keep his television profile separate from the band.

In 2019, Keery debuted his solo project Djo with the singles "Roddy" and "Chateau (Feel Alright)," followed by his first album, Twenty Twenty. He released the standalone single "Keep Your Head Up" in 2020 and his second album, Decide, in 2022. Its track "End of Beginning" went viral on TikTok in 2024, becoming his first entry on the Billboard Hot 100.

In 2025, Djo released his third album, The Crux, and a companion record, The Crux Deluxe. The album's artwork received a 2026 Grammy Award nomination. He promoted the material through the Back on You World Tour and the Another Bite Tour. During this time, Keery rejoined Post Animal for their album Iron, co-wrote the song "Funny Mouth" with Charli XCX for Wuthering Heights, and set 2026 tour dates in Latin America and alongside Tame Impala.

In his personal life, Keery dated actress Maika Monroe from 2017 to 2023. He moved from Los Angeles to the West Village in New York City in 2023 and briefly dated actress Chase Sui Wonders from late 2023 to early 2024.