Drew Starkey’s Hairstylist on Coloring in His ‘Serial Killer’ Bleached Brows
Style“When I saw him I was like, ‘Oh my God, what happened?’” says celebrity groomer Melissa DeZarate.By Eileen CartterJanuary 13, 2025Getty ImagesSave this storySaveSave this storySaveHair has already played a role in the rising career of Drew Starkey: His Outer Banks character Rafe’s transformation from a floppy-haired sniveller into a buzzcut baddie in the popular Netflix series’s third season probably paved the way for the actor’s steamy prestige role in Luca Guadagnino’s Queer.In the midst of a glitzy awards season, Starkey then debuted another makeover—only this time, as an anti-heartthrob. The actor was nearly unrecognizable at W magazine’s Golden Globes party last weekend thanks to his new bleached eyebrows and shock of peroxide-blond hair that’s shaved around the sides. His fans were distraught. Even Starkey’s go-to groomer Melissa DeZarate, whom he met on the set of a GQ photoshoot, couldn’t help but chime in, posting a photo of the actor on her Instagram story with the caption, “Drew, where the f*ck did your eyebrows go?”Drew Starkey (debuting his bleached brows) and Odessa A'zion at W magazine's Golden Globes party on January 4 in LA. Kevin Mazur/Getty ImagesThe answer is what it often tends to be in Hollywood, which is that they went away for a role. The actor is currently filming the upcoming A24-produced action-thriller Onslaught, which also stars Dan Stevens and Adria Arjona, and in which Starkey purportedly plays some sort of bad guy. He’s been able to keep the look under wraps since the movie began filming late last year, but press obligations called. Hence the lurid, stubbly brows.“Everyone was like, ‘What the fuck happened to Drew?’ And I’m like, ‘It’s a movie, guys,” DeZarate tells me. “For the public, it’s shocking when you’re used to seeing Rafe off of Outer Banks and you get like, serial-killer Drew.”The actor had texted his hairstylist a selfie the day before the W party. “He was like, ‘Just to forewarn you,’ and I was like, ‘Oh, good God.’ We’ve all been cracking up about it,” she explains. And sure, Rafe may be one of Outer Banks’s foremost antagonists, but at least in that show he looks like a normie. This time, says DeZarate, “I’m just like, you really do look like a villain.’”With photos of the actor and his “serial killer” brows whipping around the fanverse, Starkey stans were even tagging DeZarate, asking for an explanation. “You can’t really mess that boy up except, according to the fans, the bleached eyebrows can,” she says with a laugh. “It also kind of shows you how easy it is to transform someone just with a little bit of bleach.” She offered to tint his brows that night, but also thought it might be exciting “just showcase it because it is still a really cool ‘fashion’ look. I mean, think about how many times we’ve bleached eyebrows for editorials. It’s just a cool thing to do.”Starkey, seen here with Daniel Craig, was sporting toned-down eyebrows at the 2025 National Board of Review Gala in NYC on January 7. Mike Coppola/Getty ImagesBut then, just days later, the actor popped up at the 2025 National Board of Review Gala in New York City looking like his usual heartthrobby self in a dark Loro Piana tux and with trimmed blond hair and reddish-blond eyebrows. Hoping to cover up the dark roots emerging in Starkey’s brows, DeZarate “kind of forced him to do some eyebrows,” tinting them back to their almost-natural hue. “I colored them in with makeup so that he could kind of feel like himself a little bit more,” she says. “Because, you know, when you look at yourself in the mirror with bleached-out brows and white hair, you start to feel a little washed out and not totally yourself.”For the time being, though, Starkey is relishing the new ’do (and DeZarate is recommending he get a hair mask). “He thinks it’s really funny and he’s having fun with it, because it’s such a different look,” she says. As of now, they’re “workshopping what the next haircut's gonna be,” including toying with the idea of dying his hair another color entirely. “Eventually he’s gonna have to shave it off anyways, so this is the time to play around with it.”Of course, for a celebrity groomer, this sort of thing is par for the course. “I’m used to literally like, showing up and my clients looking like a completely different person and me being like, ‘Oh, OK, cool. Like, where’d your hair go?’” she says. Fans ought to get comfortable with the certainty of more body modifications to come.“He has to play different roles,” she says. “Like, it’s literally his job.”
Hair has already played a role in the rising career of Drew Starkey: His Outer Banks character Rafe’s transformation from a floppy-haired sniveller into a buzzcut baddie in the popular Netflix series’s third season probably paved the way for the actor’s steamy prestige role in Luca Guadagnino’s Queer.
In the midst of a glitzy awards season, Starkey then debuted another makeover—only this time, as an anti-heartthrob. The actor was nearly unrecognizable at W magazine’s Golden Globes party last weekend thanks to his new bleached eyebrows and shock of peroxide-blond hair that’s shaved around the sides. His fans were distraught. Even Starkey’s go-to groomer Melissa DeZarate, whom he met on the set of a GQ photoshoot, couldn’t help but chime in, posting a photo of the actor on her Instagram story with the caption, “Drew, where the f*ck did your eyebrows go?”
The answer is what it often tends to be in Hollywood, which is that they went away for a role. The actor is currently filming the upcoming A24-produced action-thriller Onslaught, which also stars Dan Stevens and Adria Arjona, and in which Starkey purportedly plays some sort of bad guy. He’s been able to keep the look under wraps since the movie began filming late last year, but press obligations called. Hence the lurid, stubbly brows.
“Everyone was like, ‘What the fuck happened to Drew?’ And I’m like, ‘It’s a movie, guys,” DeZarate tells me. “For the public, it’s shocking when you’re used to seeing Rafe off of Outer Banks and you get like, serial-killer Drew.”
The actor had texted his hairstylist a selfie the day before the W party. “He was like, ‘Just to forewarn you,’ and I was like, ‘Oh, good God.’ We’ve all been cracking up about it,” she explains. And sure, Rafe may be one of Outer Banks’s foremost antagonists, but at least in that show he looks like a normie. This time, says DeZarate, “I’m just like, you really do look like a villain.’”
With photos of the actor and his “serial killer” brows whipping around the fanverse, Starkey stans were even tagging DeZarate, asking for an explanation. “You can’t really mess that boy up except, according to the fans, the bleached eyebrows can,” she says with a laugh. “It also kind of shows you how easy it is to transform someone just with a little bit of bleach.” She offered to tint his brows that night, but also thought it might be exciting “just showcase it because it is still a really cool ‘fashion’ look. I mean, think about how many times we’ve bleached eyebrows for editorials. It’s just a cool thing to do.”
But then, just days later, the actor popped up at the 2025 National Board of Review Gala in New York City looking like his usual heartthrobby self in a dark Loro Piana tux and with trimmed blond hair and reddish-blond eyebrows. Hoping to cover up the dark roots emerging in Starkey’s brows, DeZarate “kind of forced him to do some eyebrows,” tinting them back to their almost-natural hue. “I colored them in with makeup so that he could kind of feel like himself a little bit more,” she says. “Because, you know, when you look at yourself in the mirror with bleached-out brows and white hair, you start to feel a little washed out and not totally yourself.”
For the time being, though, Starkey is relishing the new ’do (and DeZarate is recommending he get a hair mask). “He thinks it’s really funny and he’s having fun with it, because it’s such a different look,” she says. As of now, they’re “workshopping what the next haircut's gonna be,” including toying with the idea of dying his hair another color entirely. “Eventually he’s gonna have to shave it off anyways, so this is the time to play around with it.”
Of course, for a celebrity groomer, this sort of thing is par for the course. “I’m used to literally like, showing up and my clients looking like a completely different person and me being like, ‘Oh, OK, cool. Like, where’d your hair go?’” she says. Fans ought to get comfortable with the certainty of more body modifications to come.
“He has to play different roles,” she says. “Like, it’s literally his job.”
