5 fun facts about Stranger Things star Dacre Montgomery (you may not know)

Stranger Things season 2 introduced us to two new characters who each became integral to the Netflix hit. That was Max Mayfield and her troubled teen stepbrother, Billy Hargrove.

The character was a true bully, but in season 3 we get some more insight as to why he was the way he was. His mother left when Billy was a young, and he had to grow up with an abusive father. So the unfortunate result was the bad boy we meet in the Netflix Original‘s sophomore season.

However, the talented actor behind the character is the complete opposite! Dacre Montgomery was relatively unknown before his breakout performance on Stranger Things .We’re so glad we know him now! And we’ve got some fun facts about the lovely star you may have missed.

5 fun facts about Stranger Things star Dacre Montgomery

The star is from Australia

You really can’t tell when you hear him as Billy, but the actor actually isn’t American. He’s from Australia! He was born in Perth, Western Australia. Montgomery began acting onscreen and on stage at nine years old.

Growing up wasn’t easy for him at school and drama school. But now, look where he’s at!

The Red Ranger in Power Rangers reboot

Before his breakout role in Stranger Things season 2, Montgomery starred as Jason Scott, aka the Red Ranger, in the 2017 Power Rangers film reboot. And surprisingly, he’d never seen the original when he was a kid. The actor still nailed the role of course! He was also the leading man in the 2020 film The Broken Hearts Gallery, which was executive produced by Selena Gomez.

He auditioned for Stranger Things in a G-string

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the actor shared he was a “huge fan” of Stranger Things before he even auditioned. When he found out the series was looking for an 18-year-old bad boy, he told himself he had to “nail this.”

So he spent the day with two of his acting university friends making an audition tape. He was certainly excited for the opportunity! Here’s what he told THR:

"I was so nervous [about] it and wanted it so badly I made like a short film. I had an opening score, opening titles and credits. And I got in a G-string and danced naked to ’80s music with this leather jacket and crazy glasses. That night, Thursday night, I sent it off."

The actor said the next day on Friday morning, he got a call that the Duffer Brothers (aka the creators of Stranger Things) wanted to meet him via Skype on Sunday, then fly him out to L.A. for the test deal. They certainly chose the right person! While Billy’s character is hard to like, there’s absolutely no doubt the lovely and uber talented actor nailed the role!

Dacre Montgomery’s podcast – DKMH

In July 2019, Montgomery released his own podcast called DKMH. There’s a total of six episodes that are only a few minutes long. But what’s special about it is that we get to witness a different aspect of his creativity as the podcast features Montgomery’s own poetry.

He’s appeared in music videos

The star also used his talent to appear in two music videos! The first was in 2015 for “Old Souls” by Australian deathcore band, Make Them Suffer. The second was in 2017 for Austrialian sibling duo Angus & Julia in their “Chateau” music video.

Check out both videos below!