Joe Keery, beloved star of the hit Netflix show Stranger Things, is just about exhausted on one particular topic — his hair. The 30-year-old actor became a household name for his role as Steve Harrington. In the show, his character arc from ‘kind of a douche’ to best babysitter ever is one of the aspects fans love most about the show. The love for the character’s (and actor’s) hairdo is also strong, but Keery is now growing tired of having to talk about it.
Speaking to The Daily Beast about the attention he gets for his hair, the actor said, “It’s really ridiculous. It’s not something I have control over,” pointing out that yes, as an actor he has a hair stylist, “It’s just internet fodder that’s carried over and is now attached to me. I can’t really knock it. I have a career, so I have to be like, ‘Who cares? I’ll take it.’ But it’s also not something I care about at all. Still, people seem to really care about it and fixate on it, for whatever reason. It’s so stupid, honestly.”
The actor and musician wants to be known for his work rather than the height of his hair but finds it difficult sometimes when all he gets asked about is his hair. Under his music name, Djo, Keery worked his frustrations into one of his songs, “Gloom,” from his upcoming album “Decide,” writing the lyrics, “Your insults don’t affect me with my favorite coat on / I know my hair looked good in the bathroom at the bar.” Keery stated that, “It’s just like a cheeky wink at the camera. Everybody asks me about it. It’s sort of a— moment. That song’s kind of like a stiff-upper-lip attitude track.”
Not wanting to be known solely for his hair, the actor turned down the role as the face of a haircare brand, along with a “bunch of money.” On the topic of that decision, he told GQ Magazine “I think it would just be so lame for the majority of people. It would be a sellout move. Don’t you think?” Funnily enough, the interview in question’s first three paragraphs focuses solely on his hair before diving into the actor’s work and background. Now, for any artist, that would be annoying.
With one final season still to go on Stranger Things the actor can’t part ways with his hair quite yet, but he is already looking to expand beyond his role on the show. Keery appeared in the blockbuster movie Free Guy in 2021 and has also been cast in the fifth season of Fargo as a character named Gator Tillman. Though he knows some of his fame comes from the love of his hair, perhaps the actor is crossing his fingers that this next character will allow him a style shake-up.
