It’s hard to imagine anyone else but Joe Keery as Steve Harrington, but according to Outer Banks star Chase Stokes, we might’ve ended up seeing him as Hawkins’ favourite babysitter instead. During a fan event with Access Hollywood, Stokes revealed that he actually auditioned for Steve in the sci-fi series.
“So I actually read for Steve Harrington and forgot all the lines and absolutely effed up the audition,” the TV series star recalled. “I drove eight hours from Atlanta back to Orlando regretting every moment of my life on that.” However, despite his own experience with the Netflix series, Stokes was full of praise for Joe Keery’s performance.
Describing him as “an absolute legend,” Stokes said of Keery, “He’s so damn good as Steve Harrington. I’m super proud of him. I’ve talked to him a little bit throughout the years.”
As it turns out, the Duffer Brothers weren’t done with Stokes after his audition, and he later appeared in season 1 of the horror series. In a lot of ways, this kick-started his relationship with Netflix, with the streaming service later casting him as John B. Routledge in their original series Outer Banks.
“I’m just thankful for the Duffer brothers for giving me an opportunity to do my job and to start my career,” he added. “I mean, if it weren’t for them, I wouldn’t be here and the executive producers and the Netflix people who are part of that show were also part of Stranger Things. It’s a very full circle moment for me.”
You can watch Outer Banks season 3 on Netflix, or if you’ve already binged through it, check out our guides to the best Netflix horror movies and best Netflix documentaries.