---
name: "Joe Keery"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/joe-keery"
fi1m_id: "joe-keery"
imdb_id: "nm6564737"
tmdb_id: 1467219
wikidata_id: "Q27064031"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "24 April 1992"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 5
average_fi1m_score: 69
average_as: "actor"
average_over: 5
updated: "2026-10-03T02:03:03.119435+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Joe Keery

## Identity

Joe Keery

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/joe-keery
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** joe-keery
- **IMDb ID:** nm6564737
- **TMDB ID:** 1467219
- **Wikidata ID:** Q27064031
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Keery, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q27064031, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6564737/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/1467219

Actor. Born 24 April 1992 in Newburyport, Massachusetts, USA.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 24 April 1992, Newburyport, Massachusetts, USA
- **Active:** 2014–present
- **Also known as:** Joseph David Keery, Joseph Keery, Djo, Cool Cool Cool, Post Animal
- **Frequently works with:** [Alan Connor](https://film.one/person/alan-connor.md), [Angelo Irving](https://film.one/person/angelo-irving.md), [Charlie Brooker](https://film.one/person/charlie-brooker.md), [Charlie George](https://film.one/person/charlie-george.md), [Constance Cheng](https://film.one/person/constance-cheng.md), [Eli Goldstone](https://film.one/person/eli-goldstone.md), [Erika Ehler](https://film.one/person/erika-ehler.md), [Hugh Grant](https://film.one/person/hugh-grant.md)
- **Average Fi1m score:** 69, as actor, over 5 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 2010s 76 (3), 2020s 57 (2)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 69 to 66 across 5 titles
- **Score spread:** 1 at 80+, 3 at 60–79, 1 under 60
- **Lead roles:** 0 of 4 acting credits billed first or second
- **Genres:** Comedy 2, Crime 2, Drama 2, Action & Adventure 1, Adventure 1, Mystery 1
- **Screen time:** 5 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $391m across 2 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Keery, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q27064031, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6564737/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/1467219

## Streaming the US now

- **Netflix:** [*Stranger Things*](https://film.one/tv/stranger-things.md) (77), [*Death to 2020*](https://film.one/film/death-to-2020.md) (47)
- **Hulu:** [*Fargo*](https://film.one/tv/fargo-2014.md) (82)
- **Disney+:** [*Free Guy*](https://film.one/film/free-guy.md) (67)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Fi1m on Joe Keery

> Keery's trick is to be introduced as the boy you are meant to dislike and then, without changing his delivery, become the one you are watching for. Across five seasons of *Stranger Things* it worked; on *Fargo* he plays a boy who is never allowed the turn.

Steve Harrington arrives in *Stranger Things* (2016) as the boy with the hair and the car, the one the story has plainly set up to be got rid of. Keery does not play against it. He plays it straight and quiet, and somewhere across the first run something shifts that neither the writing nor the performance stops to announce. By the later seasons he was the person we most looked forward to seeing. We would not have bet on that in the first episode, and the reason is the delivery: Keery never raises his voice to tell us Steve has changed, so when Steve turns out to be looking after people, we believe him.

He came to the part in late 2015 from DePaul's theatre school and a few small television jobs, *Chicago Fire* and *Empire* among them, as a recurring player, and was made a regular from the second season. The programme ran until 2025 and he was in all of it, under Matt and Ross Duffer. Around it he built a film career on the smaller side: the lead in *Spree* (2020), a dark satire in which his Kurt Kunkle is a man nobody is meant to like; Keys in *Free Guy* (2021); *Marmalade* (2024). We have not reviewed those and will not judge them here. He also records and tours as Djo, and a track from his second album, *Decide* (2022), became a hit; early on he had kept the two names deliberately apart.

The part that tests him is Gator Tillman in the fifth run of Noah Hawley's *Fargo* (2023). Gator is the sheriff's son and deputy and useless at both, and Keery gives him the same unforced quiet he gave Steve, which is what makes it uncomfortable: this is the boy with the car if nobody had ever needed him. We spent the season wanting Gator caught and were surprised, more than once, to feel sorry for him. He is not the season's frightening man; that is Sam Spruell's Ole Munch, and Juno Temple and Jennifer Jason Leigh do the heavy work around him. Gator's job is to be small in a story full of people who are not, and Keery does it without once asking for our sympathy.

What critics notice, and we do too, is how little he does: a low-key, naturalistic delivery that fits an ensemble and can carry a lead. The nearest thing to a criticism anyone raises is Steve himself, who tends to get through the door before Keery does. He has said of the casting that he "just met the character that they were looking for at the right time in my life," which is modest and probably true. Steve is finished now. On the evidence of Gator we would like to see him cast as somebody nobody is rooting for, and left there.

## Biography

Joe Keery is an American actor and musician. He trained at The Theatre School at DePaul University in Chicago, graduating with a BFA in acting in 2014.

Keery is best known for playing Steve Harrington in the Netflix series *Stranger Things* (2016–2025). He has also appeared in films including *Spree* (2020) and *Free Guy* (2021), and as Gator Tillman in the fifth season of *Fargo* (2023–2024).

As a musician, performing under the name Djo, Keery was a founding member of the psychedelic rock band Post Animal before pursuing solo work. He released albums including *Twenty Twenty* (2019), *Decide* (2022) and *The Crux* (2025).

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org.*

## On Fi1m (5)

- *Free Guy* (2021), Fi1m 67, as Keys — [page](https://film.one/film/free-guy.md)
- *Death to 2020* (2020), Fi1m 47, as Duke Goolies — [page](https://film.one/film/death-to-2020.md)
- *Molly's Game* (2017), Fi1m 70, as Trust Fund Cole — [page](https://film.one/film/mollys-game.md)
- *Stranger Things* (2016), Fi1m 77, as Steve Harrington — [page](https://film.one/tv/stranger-things.md)
- *Fargo* (2014), Fi1m 82, as Gator Tillman — [page](https://film.one/tv/fargo-2014.md)

## Complete filmography (24)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *Djo - Rock en Seine 2026* (2026), as Djo
- *Stranger Things: Tales from '85* (2026), series, Thanks
- *Cold Storage* (2026), as Teacake
- *Fly* (2025), as Voice
- *The American Revolution* (2025), series, as John Greenwood (voice)
- *Pavements* (2025), as Stephen Malkmus
- *Finally Dawn* (2024), as Sean Lockwood
- *Marmalade* (2024), as Baron
- *Death to 2021* (2021), as Duke Goolies
- *Free Guy* (2021), as Keys — Fi1m 67, [page](https://film.one/film/free-guy.md)
- *Death to 2020* (2020), as Duke Goolies — Fi1m 47, [page](https://film.one/film/death-to-2020.md)
- *Spree* (2020), as Kurt Kunkle
- *How to Be Alone* (2019), as Jack / The Gimp
- *After Everything* (2018), as Chris
- *Slice* (2018), as Jackson
- *Molly's Game* (2017), as Trust Fund Cole — Fi1m 70, [page](https://film.one/film/mollys-game.md)
- *No Activity* (2017), series, as Officer Reinhardt (voice), Officer Reinhardt
- *The Charnel House* (2016), as Scott
- *Stranger Things* (2016), series, as Steve Harrington — Fi1m 77, [page](https://film.one/tv/stranger-things.md)
- *Henry Gamble's Birthday Party* (2015), as Gabe
- *Empire* (2015), series, as Tony Trichter III
- *Fargo* (2014), series, as Gator Tillman — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/tv/fargo-2014.md)
- *Sirens* (2014), series, as Scenester
- *Chicago Fire* (2012), series, as Emmett

## Gallery

- ![Joe Keery](https://film.one/media/person/23511/gallery-9d4bca60f0d6.jpg) Joe Keery — Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/22/Joe_Keery_by_Gage_Skidmore.jpg/1280px-Joe_Keery_by_Gage_Skidmore.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Joe Keery, Shawn Levy, David Harbour, Caleb McLaughlin, Matthew Modine, Noah Schnapp, Dacre Montgomery, Finn Wolfhard, Shannon Purser, Millie Bobby Brown and Sa (2017)](https://film.one/media/person/23511/gallery-e0a7bdf7a93c.jpg) Joe Keery, Shawn Levy, David Harbour, Caleb McLaughlin, Matthew Modine, Noah Schnapp, Dacre Montgomery, Finn Wolfhard, Shannon Purser, Millie Bobby Brown and Sa (2017) — Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f4/Joe_Keery%2C_Shawn_Levy%2C_David_Harbour%2C_Caleb_McLaughlin%2C_Matthew_Modine%2C_Noah_Schnapp%2C_Dacre_Montgomery%2C_Finn_Wolfhard%2C_Shannon_Purser%2C_Millie_Bobby_Brown_%26_Sadie_Sink_%2836078776891%29.jpg/1280px-thumbnail.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Joe Keery speaking at the 2017 San Diego Comic Con International, for "Stranger Things", at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, California. Please att](https://film.one/media/person/23511/gallery-050df881ac9f.jpg) Joe Keery speaking at the 2017 San Diego Comic Con International, for "Stranger Things", at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, California. Please att — Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ee/Joe_Keery_%2835377968484%29.jpg/1280px-Joe_Keery_%2835377968484%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Joe Keery speaking at the 2017 San Diego Comic Con International, for "Stranger Things", at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, California. Please att](https://film.one/media/person/23511/gallery-72265810991c.jpg) Joe Keery speaking at the 2017 San Diego Comic Con International, for "Stranger Things", at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, California. Please att — Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a5/Joe_Keery_%2835377968484%29_%28cropped%29.jpg/1280px-Joe_Keery_%2835377968484%29_%28cropped%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Joe Keery](https://film.one/media/person/23511/gallery-9048fd3bcaf0.jpg) Joe Keery — Image via TMDB
- ![Joe Keery](https://film.one/media/person/23511/gallery-fe419acb73c6.jpg) Joe Keery — Image via TMDB
- ![Joe Keery](https://film.one/media/person/23511/gallery-078ad6bae3b3.jpg) Joe Keery — Image via TMDB
- ![Joe Keery speaking at the 2017 San Diego Comic Con International, for "Stranger Things", at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, California. Please att](https://film.one/media/person/23511/gallery-881bd402b036.jpg) Joe Keery speaking at the 2017 San Diego Comic Con International, for "Stranger Things", at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, California. Please att — Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ef/Joe_Keery_%2835409249603%29.jpg/1280px-Joe_Keery_%2835409249603%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Joe Keery speaking at the 2017 San Diego Comic Con International, for "Stranger Things", at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, California. Please att](https://film.one/media/person/23511/gallery-361d06c7120e.jpg) Joe Keery speaking at the 2017 San Diego Comic Con International, for "Stranger Things", at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, California. Please att — Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/49/Joe_Keery_%2835409249603%29_%28cropped%29.jpg/1280px-Joe_Keery_%2835409249603%29_%28cropped%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Joe Keery](https://film.one/media/person/23511/gallery-d4aefb0205c0.jpg) Joe Keery — Image via TMDB
- ![Joe Keery](https://film.one/media/person/23511/gallery-bd711329362b.jpg) Joe Keery — Image via TMDB
- ![Joe Keery](https://film.one/media/person/23511/gallery-fb00bbc29585.jpg) Joe Keery — Image via TMDB

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/joe-keery