Stranger Things’ Joe Keery And Charlie Heaton Recall Filming Their Season 1 Fight, And Why It ‘Went Wrong Twice’

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It is hard to believe that the final season of Stranger Things will be released on Netflix nearly a decade after Season 1 dropped. Back then, the cast had no idea they were filming one of the biggest shows ever, but with the first 4 episodes of Stranger Things Season 5 set to premiere on the 2025 TV schedule in November, the cast has been rewatching alongside their fans. Which led to Joe Keery and Charlie Heaton dropping some Season 1 lore that gives me a whole new perspective of their alley fight scene.

Let me jog your memory: It’s Season 1, and Nancy is dating popular jock Steve Harrington, while also teaming up with loner Jonathan Byers to find out what happened to his brother Will and her best friend Barb. Jonathan has a major crush on Nancy, and the two boys get into it in the alley. As it turns out, actors Keery and Heaton opted not to use their stunt doubles for this scene, and maybe they should have. In a video posted to the Stranger Things official Instagram, the two actors recall filming their fist fight, and Heaton explains what went wrong:

To my defense, I think I remember why it went wrong twice. … I punched Joe right in the nose. I push him away, and then I go back, and I, like, do one more punch. And I was like, ‘Oh my God, I’m so sorry! At first, you were kind of cool, like, ‘It’s alright, man. Don’t worry about it.’ Like, ‘Yeah, no, I’m good. We’ll go again.’ And then I did it again.

This is why stunt doubles exist! Clearly, Heaton and Keery are able to laugh about it all these years later. But it sounds like that wasn’t the case at the time, with the New Mutants actor revealing his scene partner was less than pleased with his mistake the second time around:

And the second time, you were so mad. You threw me out, like, angry.

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Looks like the final result wasn’t all acting, based on this BTS lore. Perhaps that’s what made the tension between these two characters so good during their alley fight. Some of those emotions were probably real, after the Free Guy actor got punched in the face, not once, but twice.

It’s important to remember though that 10 years ago, the cast wasn’t as close as they are now, having filmed 5 seasons together. Besides, Keery’s character, everyone’s favorite demogorgon slaying babysitter, wasn’t intended to have a major role in the series. Steve Harrington was supposed to just be Nancy’s asshole boyfriend, originally written off in Season 1. He became a fan-favorite though, and now has one of the best character arcs of the entire show.

So these two actors were probably more strangers than friends when they filmed this scene, and I can see there being less understanding between them, especially if Heaton managed to actually punch the Spree actor twice:

Watching it back, I can’t really blame the Marmalade actor. Heaton’s got a mean punch. As we know from later in Season 1, Steve turns out to be not too shabby himself. He steps up to attack the Demogorgon at the Byers’ house in order to save Nancy and Jonathan, and it is still one of Steve’s best moments to this day. It was also one of the first scenes in which this ongoing love triangle puts their angst aside to work together.

I honestly love this trio when they aren’t at odds with each other, and BTS photos from Season 5 have me hopeful they will team up again. Most of all, I hope those popular fan theories about Steve Harrington aren’t true, and that they all make it out alive. Regardless, I anticipate crying just as much as the cast did when they wrapped.

You can rewatch the popular sci-fi show alongside the cast now with a Netflix subscription, and be sure to check out how Steve, Jonathan, and Nancy’s journey will end, starting Thursday, November 26.