One of those actors that people seem to already know is Joe Keery. Perhaps it’s the hair. Perhaps it’s the affection he shows Steve Harrington on Stranger Things. Beneath the familiarity of popular culture, however, lies a fairly simple tale of a young man from a small Massachusetts town who took his education seriously, found a theater program that fit him, and made his way into a field that seldom accepts newcomers.
He was the second of five children born in April 1992 in Newburyport, Massachusetts. It’s a peaceful seaside town to the north of Boston, where extracurricular activities are more important than most students realize at the time and you know your neighbors. It’s important to note that Keery attended River Valley Charter School, a Montessori institution, for his elementary and middle school education. Self-direction and creative problem-solving are traits that aren’t always associated with actors but probably ought to be, and Montessori education tends to promote these traits.
The next step was high school, at Newburyport High School, where things began to make sense. He participated in the Maudslay State Park performing arts program Theater in the Open. Community-based outdoor theater that isn’t glamorous in the traditional sense. It’s the kind of early experience that either silently locks something in or permanently discourages a child from performing.
It locked something in for Keery, but apparently not completely on his terms. He claims that he was initially inspired to act by his older sister’s support. That particular detail has a grounding quality. Not a genius who knew everything. Just a younger sibling who became skilled at something after being prodded in that direction.
Keery enrolled at DePaul University’s The Theatre School in Chicago following high school. Although the coasts—New York and Los Angeles—tend to overshadow DePaul’s theater program, those who have spent time there are aware that it produces serious, professional actors. The program is professional-focused, demanding, and situated in a real city with a real theater scene. Keery earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting in 2014. That is not a liberal arts diversion into drama classes; rather, it is a four-year conservatory degree. It calls for genuine dedication.
Formal training was not the only thing that took place in Chicago during those years. While pursuing his acting career, Keery joined the city’s music scene by co-founding the psychedelic rock group Post Animal. The fact that he used the city and the time to discover his true identity as a creative person rather than viewing school as a holding pattern before real life began speaks volumes about how he navigated that time.
He spent some time in Chicago after graduating, taking on small television roles in Chicago Fire and Empire as well as commercial work. These performances weren’t glamorous. ads for Domino’s and KFC. brief visits. In retrospect, it’s easy to ignore this early career phase, but it reveals a lot about a person’s wiring. He continued. He tried out for the Stranger Things role of Jonathan in 2015, but he was ultimately cast as Steve Harrington.
Since then, DePaul has publicly acknowledged him. Keery made a video appearance to welcome the graduating class into the alumni network during the school’s 2020 online commencement. Even though it’s a brief instance, it shows that he hasn’t moved away from his roots.
Joe Keery’s career did not suffer as a result of his education. It was essentially its cornerstone.
