- 7 weeks ago
This interview contains spoilers from 'Stranger Things' season 3. Dacre Montgomery joins The Hollywood Reporter In Studio to discuss Billy's character arc, fan reactions and the most "emotional" scene to film.
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00:00Hi, I'm Dacre Montgomery, and you're watching In Studio with The Hollywood Reporter.
00:04We were talking a little, a few minutes ago about you being a fan of the show, of season
00:13one, and then you got cast for season two as Billy.
00:18You sent in an audition tape.
00:19Can you sort of talk about, was that your idea?
00:21Yeah, I just got it and I did it in the day that I received the email about doing an audition
00:26and I kind of thought I need to be able to stand out, you know, because the show was
00:30already such a huge hit three months post-release of the first season or whatever it was, and
00:35then kind of went all out, but I believe in taking risks and it's a competitive business
00:42and you know, I like that I took an artistically big risk, I guess, in many ways.
00:50Part of that was Kiefer Sutherland's, a bit, from Stand By Me, is that right?
00:54Yeah.
00:56One of my favorite movies, and yeah, that was, it's kind of, I feel like Billy has a little
01:00bit of that in him.
01:01Was that one of your influences when you were sort of like crafting?
01:04Totally.
01:05Yeah, well I think when they had given me that scene, they hadn't obviously written too many,
01:09a huge amount of scenes for Billy yet, so they gave me, the other scene was from the script,
01:13what became the car scene with Max in the show.
01:17And then the other scene was obviously Stand By Me, and I think there were certain qualities.
01:21I was given a lot of Jack Nicholson's kind of career, I guess, to look at in general.
01:26I think he makes unusual, unpredictable choices that keep the audience on edge, and I was encouraged
01:31to do something similar.
01:32But the Duffers are great.
01:33I think, I don't really believe in copying someone else's performance, so they were great
01:39about building a new character from scratch, and building the arc right from season two
01:44through three, even when I started discussing the whole kind of course of Billy's journey,
01:49right up until the end of the season you will have all just finished watching.
01:53So you knew from the beginning that this was going to be his arc, basically.
01:57Is that right?
01:58And his end.
01:59Yeah, exactly.
02:00Totally.
02:01What kind of expectations did you have going in, and what was the experience actually like
02:06for you as a fan of something to then be part of it?
02:10I think you have to separate yourself in some way from the fandom portion in the world so
02:14you can contribute to the story in a real way, do you know what I mean?
02:20Like separating yourself in some way, shape, or form.
02:23In terms of the actual experience, it was fantastic.
02:26I mean, that's it, it's such a tribute to the Duffers being such a collaborative artist.
02:31That's why the show is so successful, I think, in many ways.
02:33Yeah.
02:34Because the sort of handcuffs feel like they're off, and you feel free, and you feel like
02:37you can create, and it evolves as you go through the process, rather than feeling like it's
02:43concrete from screenplay, you know, through to post.
02:48It doesn't feel concrete, it feels like it's ever moving and changing.
02:52And I think I admire Netflix for being a new, relatively, company that is able to give their
02:59artists that outlet to be able to change throughout the process.
03:04I admire that.
03:05Yeah.
03:06So it's better than my expectations.
03:09And you were asking me before about watching it, can you separate yourself?
03:12I think you can, because I think, as a lover of film and television, cinephile, my, when
03:19I look at product, I look, the best film and TV is something that successfully creates escapism
03:25for me.
03:26And I think this show is able to do that, and that's why I'm able to separate myself.
03:31Even though it's an ensemble cast and there's different storylines happening, I'm able to
03:34separate myself because of the cinematography and the score, and everything is just so fully
03:39realized, I think, yeah, I think that's what makes it what it is.
03:43It's so good.
03:44What Stranger Things is.
03:45It's so special.
03:46Yeah.
03:47And I know Billy's kind of, like, bad guy, but I found, in season two, I found him really
03:52refreshing, because we kind of, I mean, we had Steve in season one, but it's totally different,
03:58you know, it's a very different type of character, but if you're going to have some sort of archetype
04:02of, some form of, like, you know, the bad guy or antagonist or whatever, but I still
04:08found it refreshing, and then especially towards the end of season two, when you sort of understand
04:14why he is the way he is, you know, the scene with his dad and everything, that was really
04:20eye-opening for the character.
04:22Did you know that also in the backstory?
04:25It wasn't written.
04:26I actually asked the Duffers.
04:27I said, he can't be bad because he's bad.
04:29Like, we're all human beings, right?
04:30And I was interested in humanizing the villain, and they'd spoken a lot about that, and they
04:36wrote that scene after we'd already shot episode four.
04:40They wrote that into the script after I had that conversation with them.
04:43I love that.
04:44And I think it was really good, because, no, there's, you know, what we're interested
04:47in is the gray area between good and bad.
04:49That's what's interesting, right?
04:50That's what drama spawns from, for me.
04:52And, but I don't feel like there is, like, we're all human beings, and I think sometimes
04:58the question is, well, how do you separate yourself and play that character?
05:02That's such a bad person.
05:03And I think, well, there's qualities of that person in me, and vice versa.
05:07And I think it's about finding empathy for the character that you play, no matter what
05:11it is.
05:11And that's how you can humanize the villain, which was a quote that I think, you know,
05:17Stephen King had once given, that the Duffers had refreshed, to me, a lot throughout the
05:23shooting process in season two.
05:25How do you expect fans are going to be reacting now after season three?
05:30And is it sort of similar, do you think, to season two?
05:33Or do you even, do you get fan, like, do you hear about fan reactions to your character?
05:38Not a huge amount.
05:39I'm not great with social media and all those sort of outlets.
05:42But I am interested to sort of see how they'll respond.
05:48I'm excited.
05:50I thought it was a great season, even though we see Billy immersed in this fantastical
05:55kind of sci-fi component this season.
05:57I tried to treat it like, so he's possessed, right?
06:01He's Billy the Flayed or whatever.
06:03But I did a lot of study on people with bipolar and split personality disorder and how one
06:08personality has the spot and control over the being and how the other personality can be
06:13suppressed.
06:14And in this season, I try to treat Billy like a lackey band and he's so taut and torn.
06:21And I tried to play the Flayed Billy in my physicality and the real Billy behind the eyes.
06:25And at the end, we see that lackey band snap.
06:27And I think it's actually a really redemptive ending and a really fantastic payoff for the
06:32character.
06:32And I'm lucky that I had that arc.
06:34I'm lucky to be a part of the series.
06:35Yeah, because it's also, you know, it's a little sad in the first couple of episodes
06:38when you see, like, Billy with Mrs. Wheeler at the pool and he sort of pushes her away.
06:43So you can tell, you know, there's that human side to him who doesn't, you know, at first
06:48you have this flirtatious thing, which we could also talk forever about Billy and Mrs. Wheeler.
06:53I won't do that to you, though.
06:55But yeah, you can tell it's just, you know, there's this very innocent woman.
06:59And then also with Max, you know, there's a scene where he's talking to her.
07:03So it's like there, you can tell that there's that struggle inside him.
07:07But I kind of also want to go back a little bit because I found out you've been acting
07:12basically your entire life, right?
07:14Well, I've been giving it a red hot go, but I don't know if I've been lucky of late.
07:19But yeah, I had a long time where I was giving it a go.
07:22When was it that you wanted to be an actor?
07:24Do you remember what, was it a movie or?
07:26Both my parents work in the film industry and I grew up on set.
07:30And I don't know, I think I fell first in love with the adrenaline of a film set.
07:35It's like a family, you know, 14 hours a day every day and you just like you live for that.
07:39There is nothing else.
07:40And then I fell in love with escapism, which is what I touched on earlier.
07:43My dad used to take me to films.
07:45And just being, finding films on occasion that took me places that don't exist, I was fascinated by.
07:52And then I told my parents, look, I want to be in front of the camera.
07:55Luckily, I had really encouraging parents who for that 10-year period when I didn't book anything
08:00and I wanted to go to acting school and so on and so forth, they helped me and paid for everything
08:06and stuck it out, you know.
08:08And I think a lot of families might think, look, now it's time to move on and try something else.
08:12Oh, well, they probably understand, you know, sort of what you're going through since they
08:17are part of the film industry.
08:18They're like, you know, this is what you want to do, this is what it entails.
08:22And they probably have a little bit more of an understanding than most parents, you know.
08:25Yeah, I was lucky.
08:26Yeah, yeah, totally.
08:27Because, yeah, you went to like proper drama school also.
08:30In Australia.
08:31Yeah, yeah.
08:31The first piece of luck, I guess, that met the preparation was getting into school.
08:36And I had a lot of growing up to do.
08:38I think if I booked a role before I got into university, I think I would have really messed up my chances.
08:43So it was good.
08:44Your chances at what?
08:45I don't know, having a real shot at a career and being really mature and motivated.
08:49And I don't think I had work ethic that I do now in the same way.
08:53You fell in love, you know, you learn, you have a heart broken, a bit of everything.
08:57And I think that's all important in terms of growing up.
08:59And I think if I can take that elevated kind of life experience or emotional maturity into my work,
09:05then, you know, I think it's an important thing to come into this industry with a good head on your shoulders
09:12and keep your family and friends around and keep humble and focused, you know,
09:16and read everything under the sun and be really particular about what you pick,
09:21every, you know, opportunity you're given and every next step you take in this industry.
09:26And I'm so excited to finally sort of be given an opportunity.
09:29Yeah.
09:30And now what goals do you have now?
09:32Now that you're, you know, post-Stranger Things world, what are you looking forward to, I guess, for your career?
09:39Yeah.
09:40I'm doing a romantic comedy next, which is a big kind of risk for me.
09:45I think I'm very scared of comedy.
09:47I love to watch it, but I'm scared to play it.
09:49The pace is different from drama.
09:51The world is different.
09:52I think it's a really good ego-stripping exercise, this next movie I'm going to be taking part in,
09:57to take the piss out of myself a bit, I think, to not take myself so seriously.
10:01Yeah.
10:01And really unburden myself with that insecurity, I think, in a way, is really important.
10:06I've been working on a podcast for two and a half years, which comes out next week.
10:10Is that the spoken word?
10:12Yeah, it's really random, but very exciting.
10:15And I had all this beat poetry that I compiled over the years
10:18and had all these amazing musicians come together and compose scores
10:22and I narrate it.
10:25So that's been really cathartic as well.
10:28I don't mean to get too kind of meta, but it's been a good eye-opening experience too.
10:35And I think Stranger Things has been fantastic because it's opened up avenues, you know,
10:40even just to use quite a millennial example like Instagram,
10:45to be able to access all these people around the world,
10:48like a plethora of different artists, musicians.
10:50You know, I don't know the music world other than being a fan.
10:54I don't have any stake in that world.
10:57And to have these musicians open up their hearts and kind of go,
11:00it's really random, this Australian guy is sending me this content
11:03and he wants me to compose X, Y, and Z to it.
11:05But people have been really receptive, and I'm lucky about that
11:09because there are a lot of far more talented people in me than me in the world
11:13who don't get those kind of opportunities.
11:16Yeah.
11:16You know.
11:17What was maybe a challenging scene for you playing?
11:20Because it's also pretty physical.
11:22I mean, even in just the first or second episode, I think,
11:24is where you're getting sort of like dragged down those stairs and into that basement.
11:28Was the physical stuff challenging for you?
11:29And if not, what was?
11:31I love the physical stuff.
11:32I love learning from the stunt guys.
11:34I think they're incredibly talented athletes,
11:36and they're so particular about where everything should be
11:39and the timing of everything.
11:40And I think it's an art form in itself.
11:43I just saw John Wick 3, not to go off topic.
11:46No, you're fine.
11:48And, yeah, so I'm a big fan of kind of really getting stuck into that sort of stuff.
11:53There's a scene in episode four in the sauna,
11:57and it's a hugely physical and emotional scene halfway through the season.
12:02And I took all my prosthetics and my wig and everything off at the end of the week
12:08of shooting that scene.
12:09And I was covered head to toe in cuts and bruises,
12:12and I took all the skin off the top of my toes.
12:14I mean, just kind of invest in it.
12:16So much fun in a lot of ways.
12:18And I just, yeah, I find new things to fall in love with about this every day.
12:24Okay.
12:24Well, speaking of your prosthetics, we interviewed,
12:28one of my coworkers interviewed, Gaten.
12:30Yeah.
12:30And he was saying it's not fair, I think, that you have to,
12:34that you had a hair piece.
12:36He had to grow his hair out, like, naturally, and you got a head piece.
12:39A lot of them have to live with it, yeah.
12:40Even when they leave set, everyone's living with it.
12:43It's good I can put on a hat and grow a beard.
12:45Yeah.
12:45You know, whereas you can see Joe Keery from a mile away
12:48facing the other direction.
12:50It's just, you know what I mean?
12:51That's true.
12:52What's a favorite scene of yours?
12:54The final scene.
12:56Okay.
12:56Between Millie and I at the end, I really enjoyed.
12:59How long did that take?
13:00Three days.
13:01Oh, gotcha.
13:02So much fun.
13:03Huge set component, huge CGI component.
13:06Yeah.
13:06And then what's it like when you step off the set at the end of that last?
13:10I think you have to be able to strip it, you know what I mean?
13:12Sure.
13:13If you've got a partner to go home to or friends or family, I feel like you can't take that
13:17kind of energy back.
13:18Yeah.
13:18That's what I mean by empathizing, finding empathy for the character or similarities.
13:23So you can leave and kind of...
13:24I remember I had this, you know, super kind of eccentric drama teacher at university, and
13:32she used to say, like, pretend you're washing water over your face.
13:37And I was at school, I was like, oh, that's such, like, drama or whatever.
13:40And then I get off set, and I'm like, I sit in the car on the way home, and I'm imagining,
13:45like, the water running down my head, and it's kind of nice.
13:47You know what I mean?
13:48Yeah.
13:48Because you have such long days, I don't...
13:50I feel like that short time when you see your partner or whoever, you can't kind of bring
13:54it back.
13:55We've all enjoyed watching you.
13:56As Billy, you seem like a great, super talented actor.
14:00Really excited to see where you go from here.
14:02Thank you so much for being here.
14:03Thank you guys all for watching.
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