Dacre Montgomery | |
|---|---|
 Montgomery in 2017 | |
| Born | Dacre Kayd Montgomery-Harvey 22 November 1994 Perth, Western Australia, Australia |
| Alma mater | Edith Cowan University (BA) |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 2011–present |
| Partner(s) | Liv Pollock (2017–present; engaged) |
Dacre Kayd Montgomery-Harvey (/ˈdeɪkər/; born 22 November 1994) is an Australian actor. Montgomery began acting in short films as a teenager before making his feature film debut in the adventure comedy A Few Less Men (2017). In 2017, Montgomery starred as Jason Scott / Red Ranger in the superhero film Power Rangers and began playing Billy Hargrove in the Netflix science fiction horror series Stranger Things (2017–2022).
His performance in the latter earned him critical acclaim and various awards nominations. He has since starred in the Christmas horror film Better Watch Out (2017) and the romantic comedy The Broken Hearts Gallery (2020) and portrayed Steve Binder in Baz Lurhmann's Elvis (2022).
Early life
[edit]Montgomery was born on 22 November 1994 in Perth, Western Australia.[1][2] His father is from New Zealand and his mother is Canadian.[3] He has a younger sister.[4] His parents worked in the screen industry in Australia. Montgomery began performing on screen and in theater at the age of nine.[3]
Montgomery attended Bayswater Primary School and Mount Lawley Senior High School.[3] When Montgomery was in Year 12, his fellow students voted for him to be "The most likely student to become a Hollywood star".[4] Montgomery continued his studies in the dramatic arts throughout his secondary schooling.[citation needed] Montgomery completed his acting degree at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts at Edith Cowan University in 2015.[5][6] In an Instagram post, Montgomery said that he was a "lost kid." He had a difficult time in school and started to suffer from anxiety at an early age. He said he was bullied throughout his school years due to his weight and interest in theater. He also failed his drama exams in high school. At the age of 18, he was fired from his job.[7]
Career
[edit]Early work (2011–2016)
[edit]Montgomery's first role came when he appeared in Betrand the Terrible as Fred, in 2010. In 2011, he appeared in a TV pilot called Family Tree. In 2015, Montgomery appeared in the music video for "Old Souls" by Australian deathcore band Make Them Suffer directed by Jason Eshraghian.[8]
Montgomery starred as Jason Scott, leader of the Power Rangers, in the Power Rangers feature film reboot. The film was released in 2017.[9] Montgomery also appeared in Australian music duo Angus & Julia Stone's music video for their song "Chateau". He also appeared in the sequel to the Australian comedy A Few Best Men, titled A Few Less Men.[10]
Stranger Things and worldwide recognition (2017–present)
[edit]In 2017, Montgomery joined the cast for the second season of the Netflix series Stranger Things as Billy Hargrove, an abusive and unpredictable teenager.[11] He reprised the role in the third and fourth seasons, receiving critical acclaim for his performance. Montgomery was nominated for an MTV Movie & TV Award for his performance and, along with his castmates, received two nominations for the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series.
On 6 November 2017, Montgomery was announced to be joining The True History of the Kelly Gang based on the novel of the same name by Peter Carey, alongside Russell Crowe and Nicholas Hoult. However, he does not appear in the final film.[12]
On 19 October 2022, he was announced to appear in a leading role in Went Up the Hill, co-scripted and directed by Samuel Van Grinsven.[13] The film premiered at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival.[14] In August 2025, Montgomery revealed that he took a hiatus from acting after the Stranger Things fame in order to "reverse engineer" his acting career as he didn't want to go into the "commercial direction" and was interested in "art house films".[15] In October 2025, Montgomery began principal photography on his directorial debut film, The Engagement Party, which he also stars in.[16]
Other ventures
[edit]On 10 July 2019, he released his own podcast titled DKMH, which features his own poetry. The description of the podcast states that he spent two years compiling his own poetry and getting musicians to help him "bring it to life".[17]
Personal life
[edit]Montgomery has been in a relationship with model Liv Pollock since 2017.[18] Pollock announced the pair's engagement on Instagram in December 2023.[19]
Montgomery has opened up about having OCD in an Instagram post about an episode of his podcast, stating how it is a condition that both "fuels" and "hinders" him.[20]
Filmography
[edit]Film
[edit]| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Betrand the Terrible | Fred | |
| 2015 | Godot's Clinic | Barnabus Stottle | |
| Tryptophan | Jake | ||
| 2017 | A Few Less Men | Mike | |
| Power Rangers | Jason Scott / Red Ranger | ||
| Better Watch Out | Jeremy | ||
| 2020 | The Broken Hearts Gallery | Nick Danielson | |
| 2022 | Elvis | Steve Binder | |
| 2024 | Went Up the Hill | Jack | |
| 2025 | What We Hide | Reece | |
| Dead Man's Wire | Richard Hall | ||
| TBA | Faces of Death | TBA | Post-production |
| TBA | The Engagement Party | TBA | Also director |
Television
[edit]| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017–2025 | Stranger Things | Billy Hargrove | Main cast (seasons 2–3); guest star (season 4) |
Music videos
[edit]| Year | Title | Artist | Role | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | "Old Souls" | Make Them Suffer | Robert | Jason Eshraghian |
| 2017 | "Chateau" | Angus & Julia Stone | Lead Man | Jessie Hill |
Awards and nominations
[edit]| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Teen Choice Awards | Choice Sci-Fi Movie Actor | Power Rangers | Nominated | [21] |
| 2018 | Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series | Stranger Things | Nominated | [22] |
| 2018 | MTV Movie & TV Awards | Scene Stealer | Nominated | [23] | |
| 2020 | Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series | Nominated |
References
[edit]- ^ "Famous birthdays for Nov. 22: Dacre Montgomery, Scarlett Johansson". UPI. 22 November 2024. Retrieved 7 November 2025.
- ^ "WAAPA student named new Power Ranger". yahoo.com. Archived from the original on 17 November 2015. Retrieved 14 November 2015.
- ^ a b c Bevis, Stephen (3 November 2015). "Novice actors aim for sky". The West Australian. Archived from the original on 17 November 2015. Retrieved 7 November 2025.
- ^ a b Maddox, Garry (4 September 2025). "The Aussie Stranger Things star who was fired for chasing his indie dreams". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 7 November 2025.
- ^ "WAAPA Acting graduates to showcase in LA". WAAPA. 19 July 2018. Archived from the original on 19 March 2019. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
- ^ "Aussie Dacre Montgomery lands big break in Stranger Things season two". news.com.au. 15 October 2016. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
- ^ "Dacre Montgomery on Instagram: "When I was a kid, I was lost. I had a really tough time in school. I was a big kid who loved drama. I never got passing grades, I wasn't popular or a gifted sports player. Girls were never interested in me. I suffered from anxiety from a young age. I was distracted and I wasn't focused. But I had a dream, I was lucky - I knew what I wanted to do. And every night I went home and I focused on THAT. I visualised a future where my dreams became a reality. When I was 15 I failed my high school drama exams. When I was 16 I was told I needed to lose weight. When I was 17 I was told I should go to drama school and train. When I was 18 I was fired from my job. When I was in drama school I was told to leave. When I had a DREAM - I was told it wasn't achievable. Well, you know what.... I lost weight, I went to drama school and I never stopped wanting it, I never stopped being curious. I never let the failures get me down. Because I believed in myself and I never let anyone tell me otherwise. You can do anything you set your mind to. So, go out there and get it!"".
- ^ "Our boy Dacre Montgomery who starred in... - Make Them Suffer - Facebook". Facebook.
- ^ Jeff Sneider (20 October 2015). "'Power Rangers' Movie Casts Newcomer Dacre Montgomery as Red Ranger". TheWrap.
- ^ James, Adam (30 October 2017). "Why Billy and Max from Stranger Things 2 look so familiar". Looper. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
- ^ Petski, Denise (14 October 2016). "'Stranger Things' Netflix Series Adds Two New Regulars, Promotes Two For Season 2". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
- ^ "Russell Crowe, Nicholas Hoult to Star in Western 'True History of the Kelly Gang'". The Hollywood Reporter. 6 November 2017.
- ^ Wiseman, Andreas (19 October 2022). "'Corsage' Star Vicky Krieps & 'Stranger Things' Star Dacre Montgomery To Lead Ghost Story 'Went Up The Hill' For 'The Babadook' & 'The Nightingale' Outfit — AFM". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on 29 October 2022. Retrieved 21 November 2022.
- ^ Sean Slatter, "Samuel Van Grinsven's 'Went Up the Hill' to join Rebel Wilson's 'The Deb' at TIFF". IF Magazine, 23 July 2024.
- ^ Speakman, Kimberlee (16 August 2025). "Dacre Montgomery Says He Took Acting Hiatus After 'Stranger Things' Fame to 'Reverse Engineer' His Career (Exclusive)". People. Retrieved 16 August 2025.
- ^ "Dacre Montgomery's directorial debut The Engagement Party starts filming in the South West". Screenwest. Retrieved 7 November 2025.
- ^ "DKMH on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts. 11 July 2019.
- ^ ""Who Is Dacre Montgomery's Girlfriend? All About Liv Pollock"".
- ^ ""28/11/2023, 6 years turned into a lifetime."".
- ^ "Dacre Montgomery on Instagram: "CONTROL is the story of my OCD. A condition that both fuels and hinders me. This track is a self-study on my lifestyle control-ed by my obsessions."". 4 March 2020.
- ^ Santos, Julianna (13 August 2017). "Teen Choice Awards 2017: 'Riverdale,' Fifth Harmony Shut Out Competition". Variety. Retrieved 10 May 2018.
- ^ Santos, Julianna (13 December 2017). "SAG Award Nominations: Complete List". Variety. Retrieved 10 May 2018.
- ^ Santos, Juliana (3 May 2018). "MTV Movie & TV Awards 2018 Nominations: See the Full List". Billboard. Billboard. Retrieved 10 May 2018.
External links
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