“Outer Banks” star Chase Stokes could have landed a major role on “Stranger Things”… if only he remembered his lines during the audition.
Stokes told Access Hollywood on Tuesday that when he auditioned for the role of Steve Harrington, he forgot all of the lines and “absolutely effed up the audition.” He added that he found himself “regretting every moment” of it afterward.
Actor Joe Keery ultimately landed the role of the reluctant chaperone in the 1980s sci-fi thriller series, and Stokes harbors no hard feelings.
“Joe Keery is an absolute legend and he’s so damn good as Steve Harrington,” he said. “I’m super proud of him.”
It all ended up working out for Stokes, though. Despite not getting the part, “Stranger Things” creators Matt and Ross Duffer found a place for him in one episode from the 2016 debut season as Reed, a high school kid who bullies Natalia Dyer’s Nancy Wheeler.
Then in 2020, he landed the lead role on Netflix’s hit North Carolina-set series “Outer Banks.” Stokes plays the charismatic John B. Routledge, who leads a group of friends on an epic search to unearth secrets and treasures related to his father’s disappearance.
Stokes says he’s still thankful for the Duffer brothers and credits the opportunity to audition for Netflix executives – who were later involved in “Outer Banks” – as what helped launch his career.
If it weren’t for the Duffers brothers, he said, “I wouldn’t be here.”
Season 3 of “Outer Banks” premiered on Thursday.