Chase Stokes Recalls How He Majorly 'Effed Up' His 'Stranger Things' Audition: 'I Forgot All the Lines'

Chase Stokes' Stranger Things audition didn't go exactly as planned.

The Outer Banks star, 30, detailed the moment he blew the important audition while reading for the part of Steve Harrington in the Netflix series.

"I actually read for Steve Harrington and I forgot all the lines and absolutely effed up," Stokes told Access Hollywood at a recent Outer Banks fan event. "I drove eight hours from Atlanta back to Orlando regretting every moment of my life on that."

Despite the audition-gone-wrong, Stokes confirmed, "The Duffer brothers decided to write me back into the show."

As it turned out, the creators casted Stokes in the first season of the series as a character named Reed but he didn't have any lines. Still, Stokes said he was extremely grateful for the opportunity and where it led him.

"I'm just thankful for the Duffer brothers for giving me an opportunity to, like, do my job and start my career," Stokes said. "I mean if it weren't for them, I wouldn't be here."

As fans know, the role of Steve Harrington ultimately went to Joe Keery — who Stokes couldn't be happier for.

"Joe Keery is an absolute legend who is so good as Steve Harrington," he said. "I'm super proud of him, I've talked to him a little bit throughout the years."

Things worked out for Stokes, too. Four years after his Stranger Things appearance, the actor landed the lead role in Netflix's Outer Banks.

While promoting the third season of the show, which premieres on Thursday, Stokes told PEOPLE that fans can expect the new episodes to be "filled with surprises."

"I think they are going to be thoroughly impressed and relieved with certain things," Stokes said earlier this month. "And then other things are going to continue to keep them on the edge of their seat."

Stokes — who portrays the leader of the Pogues crew, John B — said he is drawn to the character "because regardless of the obstacles that he faces, he's willing to take them head-on."

"And he wears his heart on his sleeve a lot," he continued. "It's just a really cool narrative for young men to look at somebody who is flawed, who isn't always right and makes mistakes and learns from them and tries to grow as a young man and to a better version of himself every time."

He also said the highlight of working on the show for three seasons has been the camaraderie of the cast and crew.

"We've had almost entirely the exact same group of people on and off camera since day one," Stokes shared. "So getting to go to work with familiar faces and people that you've shared this incredible journey with just continues to be the best part of this whole thing. I think that's what constantly keeps us going."

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Season 3 of Outer Banks premieres Feb. 23 on Netflix.