“That’s the power of Eddie Munson.”
In May, British actor Joseph Quinn became an overnight sensation when he debuted as Eddie Munson in the fourth season of Netflix’s hit Stranger Things.
While Joseph has appeared in other TV shows and movies over the years, it’s Eddie who really put his name on the map, like everyone from Doja Cat to Jack Black sang his praises.
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His whirlwind months came to a head on Monday when he finally did his thing talk show debut on Jimmy Fallon’s The Tonight Show.
Joseph looked right at home on the sofa as he chatted to the host about his sudden rise to fame and confessed he was even more excited to be there after he was almost denied entry to the US by borders
In fact, it was only when an officer recognized Joseph as Eddie that he was allowed to leave the airport, and not before he was sternly warned about the character’s future.
“It’s really nice to be here because I almost didn’t make it,” Joseph told Jimmy. “I was detained at immigration yesterday. Have you ever been to ‘high school’? No one?”
A secondary inspection occurs when US Customs and Border Protection cannot verify a traveler’s information or the traveler does not have all the required documents.
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In this case, people trying to enter the US are directed to a separate interview area, where inspectors conduct further investigations to verify their identity and determine why they want to enter the country.
“I was taken to… It was more of a dungeon,” Joseph continued. “And I was asked to wait there for about 20 minutes and then I was called to this desk where somebody asked me, ‘What are you doing in America, sir?'”
“I said, ‘Well, I’m actually here to meet Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show.’ They didn’t believe me,” Joseph added. “Then one of his colleagues looked at me, looked at him and said, ‘Leave Eddie alone’.”
Joseph recalled the first officer saying, “Who are you? I don’t know,” to which the other officer replied, “Eddie from Stranger Things!” Then the first officer said, “Are you Eddie Munson?” to which Joseph replied, “A species.”
“He said, ‘Are you coming back next season?'” Joseph then laughed. “And I said, ‘I don’t know,’ and he said, ‘Better,’ and he gave me the passport, and that’s it,” Joe concluded.
The anecdote received a standing ovation from the live studio audience, with Jimmy summing up, “That’s the power of Eddie Munson!”
Elsewhere in the interview, Joseph talked about how nervous he was about joining Stranger Things, specifically because of his fear of stepping on co-star Joe Keery’s toes.
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Joe plays fan favorite Steve Harrington, who has established an almost fatherly role towards the younger characters since the first season.
Joseph’s character Eddie also took some of the boys under his wing in Season 4 and has a particularly close bond with Dustin, played by Gaten Matarazzo.
“I had the best time [Joe and Gaten],” Joseph said to Jimmy. “I was pretty nervous about that dynamic because the characters of Gaten and Joe, their dynamic is something that people really like and I was very conscious of going in there and being on Gaten’s side.”
“His Joe next door,” laughed the actor. “[I was] they don’t want to step on anyone’s toes. But it actually became one of the things I enjoyed the most [the show] because me and Joe would constantly compare Gaten’s little anecdotes.
Gaten and Joseph have become incredibly close, and Jimmy recalled that when Gaten appeared on his show earlier this year, he said that Jimmy would “love” Joseph.
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In addition to his thrilling performance as Eddie, Joseph has made a name for himself off-screen for his emotional reaction at the London Film and Comic Con earlier this month.
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In a video that quickly went viral, the actor was seen breaking down in tears during a question-and-answer session after fan Kimberley Burrows spoke fondly of Eddie and thanked Joseph for spending time with guests during the head of week
Kimberley also addressed the growing reports that Joseph was being “yelled at” and abused by Comic Con staff throughout the convention.
“I’m sure many of us have heard what happened yesterday, whether it’s true or not, about how you were treated,” he told Joseph. “Just wanted to say thank you from all of us, we really appreciate you sharing your time.”
“I think we all connected a lot with Eddie, for one reason or another, whether we liked his taste in music or he’s an outsider like you mentioned. I think we’re all part of Eddie,” Kimberley continued.
Joseph was visibly taken aback by her kind words and began to cry, wiping his eyes with his hands as he joked, “Ugh, why did you do that?”
Fans were later left worried when Joseph abruptly canceled his scheduled appearance at German Comic Con just days later, citing a problem with his passport.
But the star spoke fondly of his time at LFCC on The Tonight Show, telling Jimmy: “I went to Comic Con recently and it was really moving to see how people have identified. [Eddie].”
“And I think it’s probably the fact that he’s an outsider,” Joseph continued. “A little, a little, on the margins of society. It’s very emotional to see how much it means to people.”
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