Stranger Things’s Dacre Montgomery on what we can expect from season 3

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3rd Jul 2019

For the fans among us, it feels like we’ve been waiting for season three of Netflix’s  for an eternity. Season two of the hit show aired back in 2017 and we’ve basically been on the countdown for the show to resume ever since. But, like all good things, it has been worth the wait, and as we prepare for new episodes to air on July 4, we spoke to Australia’s own Dacre Montgomery, who plays Billy on the hit show, about what we can expect.

Montgomery is a 24-year-old Perth-born actor who plays bully Billy Hargrove on the show. As the big step-brother to Max (played by Sadie Sink), you might remember how much we all loved to hate Billy back in season two, when he first joined the Hawkins crew. Billy is not just a bully, he also torments his sister, as well as her friends, and while we did gain a modicum of sympathy for him in season two, that was largely due to Montgomery’s skillful acting.

“I think you see a lot more darkness in my character, a lot more unpredictable choices–hopefully for the better,” Montgomery told Vogue while in Sydney to promote the new season. He also confirmed the series in general is about to get a whole lot darker and admitted he’s actually a little bit nervous about the audience reaction to Billy as season three debuts. “I’m a little bit nervous about the response but they wrote me the storyline anyone could have asked for. The ending is amazing. The reward at the final scene of the show, for my character, is really fun.”

Montgomery was hoping Billy would find a love interest for season three but sadly, he says that didn’t really work out. “It didn’t quite happen but so much more happens!” he confirms. “It gets so dark for my character.” He also said we can expect Billy to share some scenes with Eleven, played by Millie Bobby Brown. “I think my character forms really interesting and dynamic bonds with Eleven, which is really an interesting component in the show.”

He reiterates that we might have to wait for the end of the season to understand where Billy is coming from, even with the context we now have of his difficult family life. “At the end of the show the reward is almost tied in with this human element. I think that was the extremely successful part of my character’s story for season two, was the humanising scene for the villain, or the antagonist, with the dad.”

If you fell in love with Billy’s look then you’ll be pleased to know Montgomery will be back in the ‘80s garb for this season, which is set in the summer of 1985. He adds it takes him around an hour to get Billy’s iconic wig applied. “Hair, make-up, prosthetics, the full width of everything that was happening to my character [is back]… the wig itself is about an hour. They’ve done an incredible job. I mean, my wig gets permed up every day! I should have given a name for it, like a good car or something!”

Since joining the cast, Montgomery has clocked up two million Instagram followers, a number which is certain to grow as Billy’s character arc progresses. He prefers to keep his social media posts about his work, choosing not to post personal content. 

“I don’t really post much at all,” he admits. “I like the old Hollywood stars where you don’t know what they think about a lot of things and what they’re doing all the time. It kind of ruins the illusion of escapism you have in the cinema. When season two came out I returned straight away to Perth and just dropped off the map for three months. I didn’t want to be a part of any of that sort of stuff.”

Although he’s had to learn to set boundaries, with the media and also on Instagram, Montgomery adds that being on  has been an “amazing opportunity” and one he enjoys sharing with his dedicated following.  

“I’ve become more active on my social media to engage the audience that I’m lucky enough to have,” he adds. “That’s been a reason to return.”

Season three of Stranger Things airs on Netflix July 4, 2019.

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