"Do you remember the deadbeat Byers father from the first season of Stranger Things? Of course you don't. Played by the veteran actor Ross Partridge, his name was Lonniewhich, again, no reason why you'd remember that either. The character was a cliche bad-dad: sleazy white tank top, messy hair, soulless loser, and the ex-husband to Winona Ryder's Joyce Byers. She kicks him out of the house after just four episodes."
"He was played by a little-known performer from Chicago: Joe Keery, who had just quit his gig as a waiter to pursue acting full-time. The Duffers liked Keery's performance so much that they rewrote the ending so that Steve survives. In the finale, he grabs a baseball bat and smashes the monster like his last name was DiMaggio. He even gets the girl."
"If you ask Keery, who was then just 24 years old, about the career-changing rewrite, he still seems in awe that Steve isn't some long-forgotten bloody mess in the Upside Down. I just met the character that they were looking for at the right time in my life, Keery tells me. The brothers are really good at having an open mind about these characters. Even though people love them for who they are, they're not afraid to change."
Lonnie Byers was a minor, clichéd deadbeat character who appears briefly and was originally intended to return and fight the Demogorgon. Series creators Matt and Ross Duffer rewrote the season finale after responding to Joe Keery's performance as Steve Harrington, transforming a near-expendable bully into a survivor and hero who defeats the monster with a baseball bat and wins a romantic subplot. Joe Keery had recently left a waiting job to pursue acting full-time. The Duffers demonstrate openness to changing character arcs when performances inspire them. Keery reflects on his unexpected career turn while attending the premiere of season five.
Read at www.esquire.com
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