Joseph Andrew Starkey (born November 4, 1993) is an American actor. A son of basketball coach Todd Starkey, he played supporting roles in the teen drama films Love, Simon and The Hate U Give (both 2018). He gained recognition for starring in the Netflix adventure series Outer Banks (2020−present),[1] and has since starred in the romantic drama film Queer (2024).
Life
Starkey was born in Asheville, North Carolina to Todd Starkey, a college-basketball coach for the Kent State women's team, and Jodi Starkey, a school counselor. Starkey is the oldest of four children. His family moved around the Blue Ridge Mountains area, but he mostly grew up in the town of Hickory.[2][3]
As a kid, Starkey grew up playing baseball and basketball. He also learned to play the guitar and the piano.[4] Starkey attended St. Stephens High School and started to get serious about acting after joining a drama class on his freshman year, which he described as "a lot of Samuel Beckett and shit."[2] He graduated magna cum laude from Western Carolina University in 2016 where he double majored in English and theater performance.[5] After college he moved to Atlanta to join two friends who were forming a production company and started to audition for roles.[2][4]