For years, Steve Harrington could easily overshadow everything else he did.
That gradually changed.
His work in Fargo showed him playing a considerably darker character than Steve. His music under the Djo name developed its own audience. And “End of Beginning” eventually became a cultural phenomenon independent of any television soundtrack.
By January 2026, the separation between “Joe Keery the actor” and “Djo the musician” had become increasingly difficult to maintain simply because both careers were prominent.
Netflix even revealed an unexpected musical contribution from Keery to the Stranger Things finale.
According to Netflix's Tudum, Keery suggested using David Bowie's original version of “Heroes” during the final credits of the series. Co-creator Ross Duffer said that once Keery suggested it, the creators immediately felt it was the right choice to close the show.
It was a fitting contribution from someone whose musical identity had grown considerably during the years he spent playing Steve.
Then, almost immediately after the series ended, his own song was rising back up the charts.
The same person who had spent years fighting supernatural monsters on television now had the biggest song in the world on Billboard's Global 200.
And somewhere amid all of that, according to a photo circulating online, he may also have been sitting quietly on a subway train.
New York Has a Way of Making Fame Look Smaller
Celebrity culture often depends on separation.
Stars enter through private doors.
They sit in reserved sections.
They are photographed behind ropes.
They travel behind tinted glass.
New York can make maintaining that separation unusually difficult — and sometimes unnecessary.
The density of the city means that radically different worlds constantly occupy the same physical space.
A famous actor can wait at the same traffic light as an office worker.
A musician can stand in line for coffee behind a student.
Someone whose face appears on a billboard can descend a flight of stairs and board the same train as everybody else.
That does not mean New Yorkers never notice celebrities. Clearly they do.
It also does not mean celebrities are always left alone.
In fact, the very existence of candid photographs raises an uncomfortable question about how much privacy public figures should reasonably expect while simply moving through a city.
A person can legally be photographed in many public settings, but legality and courtesy are not identical concepts.
The reaction to Keery's subway image included another sentiment alongside all the praise for his supposed normality: some people thought he should simply have been allowed to ride the train without becoming content for strangers online.
That is worth considering.
If what people like about the image is that Keery appears to be behaving like an ordinary person, then perhaps the most ordinary response would be to let him finish the journey.
The Difference Between Being Famous and Acting Famous
One of the strangest things about celebrity is that audiences often judge famous people not only for what they do but also for whether their behavior matches what fame is supposed to look like.
A celebrity driving an expensive sports car can be criticized for showing off.
A celebrity riding public transportation can become news for appearing humble.
A celebrity eating at a normal restaurant can inspire headlines about being “down to earth.”
All of this says as much about the audience as it does about the celebrity.
Taking a subway does not prove someone's character.
It does not reveal whether a person is generous, kind or humble.