Drew Starkey is an American actor best known as Rafe Cameron, the unpredictable villain of Netflix’s Outer Banks, and as Eugene Allerton opposite Daniel Craig in Luca Guadagnino’s Queer. He turned 33 on November 4, 2026, the same year Outer Banks ended after five seasons. This Drew Starkey biography covers his North Carolina roots, his career, his height, his relationship rumors and what comes next.
| Date of Birth | November 4, 1993 |
|---|---|
| Age | 33 years |
| Nationality | American |
| Zodiac Sign | Scorpio |
| Occupation | Actor, Model |
| Full Name | Joseph Andrew Starkey |
| Place of Birth | Asheville, North Carolina, USA |
| Education | Western Carolina University |
| Parents | Todd Starkey and Jodi Ballard Hutto |
| Siblings | Logan Starkey, Brooke Starkey, and Mackayla Starkey |
Heather Marie TomDrew Starkey Biography
Drew Starkey was born Joseph Andrew Starkey on November 4, 1993, in Asheville, North Carolina, and spent most of his childhood in Hickory. The family moved around the Blue Ridge Mountains area, and he played baseball and basketball and learned guitar and piano as a boy. North Carolina still comes first for him. “That’s my home, it’s my favorite place on Earth,” he told Dazed in November 2024.
His father, Todd Starkey, is a college basketball coach. Todd spent 10 seasons as head coach of Kent State’s women’s team, going 179-127, before joining Arizona as associate head coach in March 2026. Drew is the oldest of his four children, and his siblings are Logan, Brooke and Mackayla.
His parents divorced while the children were young. His mother, Jodi Ballard Hutto, later married Brian Hutto.
Education
Drew went to St. Stephens High School in Hickory, where acting first took hold in a freshman drama class. The school’s stage had an unusual past. Speaking on Jimmy Kimmel Live in November 2024, he said his teacher, Molly Rice, turned “quite literally an old tractor shed” into a small theater, and the students did a lot of Samuel Beckett.
He then went to Western Carolina University and graduated in 2016 with a double major in English and theater performance. He also won the first Charles Stephen Stancil Stephens-Kudzu Players Scholarship, which goes to students in the School of Stage and Screen with strong acting potential. After college he moved to Atlanta, where two friends were starting a production company, and began auditioning.
Height and Appearance
Drew Starkey’s height is about 6 feet 2 inches, or 1.87 meters, which makes him slightly taller than his 6-foot-1 Outer Banks co-star Chase Stokes, Capital FM reports. He has blonde hair and brown eyes.
Drew Starkey Career
Drew’s first screen credit came in 2014, and small roles followed in Atlanta-shot productions such as Mercy Street, Ozark and Good Behavior. Netflix’s Tudum says he was “working consistently as an actor while also doing odd jobs in Atlanta” before his big break. In 2018 he played bully Garrett Laughlin in Love, Simon and Officer 115 in The Hate U Give, and in 2019 he played Hawkins in Scream: Resurrection.
Outer Banks changed his life when it reached Netflix on April 15, 2020. Rafe Cameron, the eldest son of Ward Cameron, grew from a secondary villain into one of the show’s most talked-about characters over 49 episodes. “It was the first time that I was able to be a part of a process from beginning to end,” he told Tudum.
The final 10 episodes dropped on August 20, 2026, and his last day hit him hard. “I was a wreck. I really was. I didn’t think I would be,” he told Tudum. He said he walked away from the crew and “just started weeping,” adding, “It felt like grief.”
Queer gave him his biggest film role. Guadagnino’s drama played at the Venice Film Festival in September 2024 and opened in US theaters that November. He told Dazed there was no usual audition. After a couple of months of meetings, the director asked him over breakfast at the Beverly Hills Hotel. He called the film “a psychedelic love story” and said working with Daniel Craig was “like a master class.”
The two met in movement rehearsals a month before filming, which he told Kimmel felt like “an intense kind of Jiu-Jitsu class.” The role earned him a Rising Star of the Year nomination at the 2025 Dorian Awards.
His 2026 was busy. He played Cary in Apple TV’s crime series Lucky, which arrived on July 15 with Anya Taylor-Joy and Timothy Olyphant. He also played Cyrus, a government agent, in Adam Wingard’s A24 thriller Onslaught, which opened on September 4 to a C CinemaScore.
Next is Deep Cuts, Sean Durkin’s A24 film with Cailee Spaeny, which is due in 2027. He is also rumored for Patrick Bateman in Guadagnino’s American Psycho. Asked by GQ in August 2026, he said “No comment,” though he admitted he has read the script. No casting has been announced. Without the show, he called himself “a free agent” and said, “It’s pretty scary. It’s pretty terrifying.”
Drew Starkey Movies and TV Shows
These are the main films he has acted in:
- The Radical Notion of Gene Mutation (2014)
- Lost Soles (2015) as Scott
- Bounds (2015) as Todd
- Up the Hill (2016) as The Client
- Love is the Longest Con (2016) as Adrian
- American Animals (2018) as Frat Boy
- Love, Simon (2018) as Garrett Laughlin
- The Hate U Give (2018) as Officer 115
- Mine 9 (2019) as Ryan
- Just Mercy (2019) as Young Guard
- Extended Stay (2020) as Ricky
- The Devil All the Time (2020) as Tommy Matson
- Embattled (2020) as Tanner Van Holt
- Hellraiser (2022) as Trevor
- The Other Zoey (2023) as Zach MacLaren
- Queer (2024) as Eugene Allerton
- Onslaught (2026) as Cyrus
- Deep Cuts (2027) as Joe Morrow
His television roles include:
- Mercy Street (2017) as Gambling Soldier
- Shots Fired (2017) as Clint Jr.
- Ozark (2017) as Boy
- Good Behavior (2017) as Agent Bradfield
- Dead Silent (2017) as Ethan Walton
- Valor (2017) as Bobby
- Bobcat Goldthwait’s Misfits & Monsters (2018) as Hunter Robison
- The Resident (2018) as Young Lawyer
- Doom Patrol (2019) as Tim
- Queen Sugar (2019) as Beau
- Scream: Resurrection (2019) as Hawkins
- Dolly Parton’s Heartstrings (2019) as Lookout
- Outer Banks (2020-2026) as Rafe Cameron
- The Terminal List (2022) as Junior Alba
- Lucky (2026) as Cary
Modeling and Fashion
Fashion has become a second career. He has fronted Loewe campaigns shot by Juergen Teller and David Sims, and he appears in Cartier’s watchmaking campaign. Dior named him a brand ambassador in January 2026, and he stars in the label’s Spring 2027 campaign. He also sat at its menswear show in Paris on June 24, 2026.
He keeps a very small Instagram page for someone his size. His verified account, @drewstarkey, has 4.8 million followers and only 12 posts.
Relationship Status
Drew Starkey has never confirmed a girlfriend. The name most linked to him is actress Odessa A’zion, who played Riley opposite his Trevor in Hellraiser after the two met on set in fall 2021.
Rumors began in November 2022 when she posted a birthday message to “Joseph.” A January 2024 British Vogue profile then mentioned “his relationship with Odessa A’zion,” and in early 2025 they attended the Vanity Fair Oscar party together. Neither has confirmed a romance.
A’zion was also briefly part of Deep Cuts. She left in January 2026, within 48 hours of the announcement, after critics questioned her casting as Zoe Gutierrez. Older reports linked him to Claire Van der Linden, and he has not commented on those either.
Drew Starkey Net Worth
Acting pays most of Drew’s bills, with Outer Banks, Queer and his A24 work on top. Modeling for Dior, Loewe and Cartier adds a second stream, helped by his 4.8 million Instagram followers.
Netflix has never published his Outer Banks salary, and his fashion fees are private too, so a firm figure is still to come. His earning power is likely to grow if American Psycho or another lead role lands.
Frequently Asked Questions
How old is Drew Starkey?
Drew Starkey is 33. He was born on November 4, 1993, which makes him a Scorpio.
How tall is Drew Starkey?
He is about 6 feet 2 inches, or 1.87 meters, tall.
Who is Drew Starkey’s girlfriend?
He has not confirmed one. He has been linked to Odessa A’zion since 2022, but neither has confirmed a romance.
What is Drew Starkey’s real name?
His full name is Joseph Andrew Starkey.
Is Drew Starkey in American Psycho?
No casting has been announced. He told GQ “No comment” in August 2026 but said he has read the script.
What is Drew Starkey’s next movie?
Deep Cuts, Sean Durkin’s A24 film with Cailee Spaeny, is due in 2027.
