Keery was born in 1992 in Newburyport, Massachusetts, to parents David and Nina Keery, an architect and Professor of English, respectively. He is the second of five children and grew up with sisters Caroline, Lizzy, Kate, and Emma. Keery was raised in Newburyport and attended River Valley Charter School, a local Montessori elementary and middle school, and Newburyport High School. When he was young, he participated in Theater in the Open, a performing arts camp at Maudslay State Park, but ultimately began acting in high school, initially performing there at his older sister's insistence. Keery went on to study at The Theatre School at DePaul University and graduated in 2014 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting.
Career
Acting
After graduating from DePaul, Keery went to over a hundred auditions. Before his breakout role in Stranger Things, Keery appeared in a KFC, Domino's, and amiibo commercial, and had roles in Empire and Chicago Fire. His first appearance in a full-length film was in Stephen Cone's indie, Henry Gamble's Birthday Party. In late 2015, Keery was cast in Stranger Things. He initially auditioned for the role of Jonathan, but later sent in a tape for his character, Steve. The first season of the show was released on Netflix on July 15, 2016. He was promoted from recurring cast to a series regular for the second season of Stranger Things, which premiered on October 27, 2017. Keery reprised his role for the third season, released on July 4, 2019. Since beginning Stranger Things, Keery has also acted in a few independent movies, including the 2020 satire film Spree in which he starred, and is set to appear in the 2020 wide-releaseaction comedyFree Guy.
Music
Aside from acting, Keery is also a musician. He is one of the guitarists for Chicago-based garage and psych-rock band Post Animal. Their debut full-length album was released in October 2015. The band's second album, When I Think Of You In A Castle, was released in April 2018 and saw Keery contributing his guitar playing as well as vocals. As of 2019, Keery is no longer a touring member of the band. On July 19, 2019, Keery self-released the single "Roddy" as a solo artist under the moniker Djo. Keery released a second single on August 9, 2019, titled "Chateau " under the same moniker. On September 13, 2019, Keery released his debut album as Djo, Twenty Twenty. In his early twenties, Keery released music under the name "Cool Cool Cool".
