Joe Keery: No one’s a jerk for no reason

Joe Keery (center) as Steve Harrington in “Stranger Things”

“Stranger Things” actor Joe Keery on playing the polarizing character Steve Harrington, a high school jock who’s as popular for his cockiness as he is for his mop of luscious hair:

“Yeah, on paper, Steve is kind of a jerk! But, an actor’s job is to make him seem real, to be emotive. No one’s a total jerk for no reason, so I try to make him seem relatable,” he said of Steve, who’s also the boyfriend of Nancy Wheeler (Natalia Dyer).

Fortunately, Steve did get some semblance of redemption toward the end of the first season. “If there’s a discussion about whether or not there’s good in him or not, that’s a good thing because it means people are thinking about it; and that, maybe, I did my job [well],” Joe said. “But yeah, my own mom was like, ‘You’re a total jerk.’” —ALLAN POLICARPIO