Oh, Joe Keery. Please appear on more late night television shows!
The Stranger Things star was recently on Late Night with Seth Meyers where he revealed that when he was originally cast as Steve Harrington, the Duffer brothers told him to get ripped. Why? So Steve Harrington could be a pro-swimmer. Joe spent about six weeks training and then showed up for his first day of work only to find that the Duffer brothers had cut that plotline!
He told Seth Meyers,
“I also thought I was going to be in a Speedo on a TV show, the first thing I ever did. And I didn’t want to be known as Chunky Steve. [After swimming prep] I showed up on the first day and they were like, ‘Oh, the swimming? Yeah, we cut that.’ It was the most in-shape I’d ever been.”
It might have been an okay addition to Steve’s character, but we’re so happy with where Steve’s story has gone that we couldn’t have wished for anything more.
I also don’t know if the world could have handled Steve Harrington in a Speedo.
We did get the staple 80s jeans, however.
Joe said,
“They don’t tell you about that when they cast you. They don’t tell you about the jeans and how tight they make them. The jeans were very tight in a lot of ways in places you might not expect…you know. And also, the material for jeans now is stretchy. [Mine] were like, nothing. It’s like you’re wearing a baseball glove. You’re having to duck and run around [in the show,] but you’re trapped.”
Tight jeans and a beautiful character development? A+, Duffer brothers.
