Imagine Stranger Things Without Steve Harrington, It Almost Happened

Steve Harrington is one of the most loved characters in Stranger Things

and it is hard to imagine anyone other than Joe Keery playing him. Since the show began in 2016, Steve has become one of the most loved characters. In the first season, he was shown as a school bully. Over time, his role changed and viewers saw a softer and caring side of him. What many fans may not know is that Joe almost didn’t play Steve.

Before the Netflix series began filming, he actually auditioned for the role of Jonathan Byers. That role later went to Charlie Heaton, who has played the elder Byers brother since season one. Joe was later offered the role of Steve and the rest is history.

Joe Keery Almost Played Jonathan Byers

Speaking with Vulture, Joe Keery once recalled

that his audition for Stranger Things was “Pretty basic. It’s kind of funny. I sent a tape in, didn’t really hear anything for a while, and then two months later they were like, ‘They want you to tape for this other role.’

I taped for Jonathan originally and then taped for Steve and then Skyped the brothers and then waited two weeks and then found out that I got it. I was waiting tables at the time and then found out that I got it and had to go back inside and wait more tables. So it was pretty bizarre, pretty cool. Definitely a life changing moment. Obviously, you don’t really know what the show is or what it’ll be, but just to have any sort of steady job.”

“I love the character (Jonathan). But right away, I was like, I don’t necessarily think I have the right look for that character. And then when I did audition for Steve, I felt I had a pretty good understanding of what they wanted the character to be. I also had a pretty good idea of what I personally wanted to bring to him. So that’s how the character Steve is now. It’s this amalgamation of how the Duffer brothers initially thought, and then the work I did on the side as well.”

Steve Was Meant to Die In Season One

At first, the makers of Stranger Things did not plan to keep Steve in the show for long. He was meant to be a negative character and was supposed to die in the first season. The idea was to show him as a rude and selfish school guy. But while filming season one, Duffer Brothers told Hollywood Reporter in 2017 that they were impressed by Joe Keery. They liked his screen presence and felt he brought more depth to the role than expected. Because of this, they changed Steve’s story.

When they started working on season two, they wanted to keep Steve but were not sure how to use him, especially after his break up with Nancy. During writing, they noticed that Dustin was also feeling lonely. Steve was going through similar emotions. This led them to pair the two characters. Once they began writing their scenes together, it felt right. The bond between Steve and Dustin turned out better than imagined and became a favourite part of the show.