Why Stranger Things' Joe Keery Completely Idolizes Stanley Tucci
"Stranger Things" fans are no stranger to Joe Keery in his role as Steve Harrington, the much-loved ex-boyfriend-turned-quirky-hero. In a recent interview, Keery waxed nostalgic about his college years in Chicago and dished about his future plans, which include new projects far removed from his recent Netflix series, which he hopes will get people to finally stop talking about his hair. About the hair obsession, he says, "[P]eople seem to really care about it and fixate on it, for whatever reason. It's so stupid, honestly." We get it, Joe. Or should we say Djo (pronounced just like Joe), since — according to The Daily Beast — that's the name Keery is now using as a musician?
Keery is very happy to talk about almost anything other than his hair, it appears, and first on his agenda is his musical career: his album, DECIDE, will be released on September 16. Keery has been drumming and strumming: from 2014-2019, he played both the guitar and drums for the Chicago band Post Animal. He's definitely flexing his post-Steve muscles in his new venture, and recently fascinated fans when he revealed his greatest heroes — typically off-beat and endearing choices. Who are the luminaries lighting Keery's path? None other than Stanley Tucci and Charli XCX are his idols (per We Got This Covered).
In case you said, "Huh?" Keery's happy to explain all the love for Tucci and English singer-songwriter Charli XCX.
Tucci's foodie memoir is his musical inspiration
As a fellow musician, Joe Keery calls Charli XCX a "huge influence" and admires her ability to mix popular elements with more sophisticated ones. "She's just amazing mixing hyper-art-pop with more sugar-coated pop. It's great to have this mix of art and commerce in the middle," he told NME.
Keery sees even more reasons to idolize Stanley Tucci. Host of "Searching for Italy," Hollywood and stage actor, director of "Big Night," and author of "Taste: My Life through Food," Tucci exemplifies the varied interests and Renaissance-man persona that Keery is pursuing himself, as a musician-actor who's set his sights on the directing and film production side of things, too. And it seems he's found time for reading when he's not acting or playing — he's particularly inspired by Tucci's memoir (per The Daily Beast).
Keery's foodie followers are collectively holding their breath — will there be recipes from Keery's table in our future? Unfortunately, that's not in the cards, as he explains: "[N]ot a cookbook." It's not the cuisine that excites Keery, but Tucci's ability to unify his eclectic passions. "How can you blend genres? ... How do you blend a cookbook and a story about your life? Nobody's done that in the same way, not that I have read," he told The Daily Beast, marveling. So there's no cookbook in the works — but Keery's still young, and there's always hope that Tucci's flame will catch with his young acolyte in time.