Joe Keery is part of one of the world’s biggest television series, “Stranger Things.” He’s also starred in Hollywood tentpoles like “Free Guy” and has a burgeoning music career under the name Djo, and yet all anyone wants to talk to the 30-year-old performer about is his hair. Keery’s locks have been all the rage for six years and counting thanks to his beloved role as Steve Harrington on “Stranger Things.” But now, the actor has had enough.
“It’s really ridiculous. It’s not something I have control over,” Keery told The Daily Beast about the non-stop focus on his hair. “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 attention paid to Keery’s hair has gotten so out of control that he decided to work it into the song “Gloom” off his upcoming album, “Decide.” One lyric in the single reads: “Your insults don’t affect me with my favorite coat on / I know my hair looked good in the bathroom at the bar.”
“It’s just like a cheeky wink at the camera,” Keery said. “Everybody asks me about it. It’s sort of a… moment. That song’s kind of like a stiff-upper-lip attitude track.”
Keery told GQ magazine last year that he turned down an offer to be the face of a haircare brand. The actor said, “I think it would just be so lame for the majority of people. It would be a sellout move. Don’t you think?”
With a fifth and final season of “Stranger Things” on the way, don’t expect the love for Keery’s hair to die down. However, the actor is already starting to branch out beyond “Stranger Things” on television with a recently-booked role on the upcoming fifth season of FX’s “Fargo” anthology series. Keery will star as a character named Gator Tillman, and that’s all the info about the role that the network has confirmed.
Keery is starring in “Fargo” Season 5 opposite Jon Hamm, Juno Temple, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Lamorne Morris and Richa Moorjani.
From Variety US