{"id":1960717,"date":"2025-08-14T20:31:09","date_gmt":"2025-08-14T20:31:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=1960717"},"modified":"2025-08-14T20:31:09","modified_gmt":"2025-08-14T20:31:09","slug":"dacre-montgomery-explains-why-he-left-hollywood-after-stranger-things","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/dacre-montgomery-explains-why-he-left-hollywood-after-stranger-things\/","title":{"rendered":"Dacre Montgomery Explains Why He Left Hollywood After Stranger Things"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Dacre Montgomery<\/strong> shot to stardom with his role as Billy Hargrove in Stranger Things<\/em><\/a>, but he left Hollywood at the height of his fame. Now, he\u2019s returning to the spotlight and explaining the reason for his hiatus.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think things have changed,\u201d Montgomery, 30, recently told The Australian,<\/em> per Daily Mail<\/em><\/a>. \u201cTraditional Hollywood stars existed because there was mystery. \u2026 Social media has done away with that. That\u2019s a large part of why I dropped off the map for the last five years.\u201d<\/p>\n

Montgomery began his acting career in 2010 when he appeared as Fred in the film Betrand the Terrible<\/em>. He later starred as Jason Scott, the leader of the Power Rangers, in the Power Rangers<\/em> film reboot in 2017.<\/p>\n

That same year, Montgomery joined the cast of Netflix\u2019s Stranger Things<\/em> season 2 as Billy Hargrove, the abusive older step-brother of Max Mayfield (Sadie Sink<\/strong>). He reprised his role in seasons 3 and 4<\/a> and received critical acclaim for his performance. He was nominated for an MTV Movie & TV Award and joined his castmates in receiving two nominations for the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series.<\/p>\n

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\n Related: <\/span>Holy Upside Down! \u2018Stranger Things\u2019 Cast From Season 1 to Now: Photos<\/span><\/a>
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\n\t\t\tGrowing up! Millie Bobby Brown, Gaten Matarazzo and the rest of the Stranger Things cast have evolved tremendously since the show began in 2016. The once relatively unknown actors burst into the Hollywood industry full speed ahead after the drama\u2019s massive success. \u201cI don\u2019t think Netflix thought it was going to be as huge as [\u2026]\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Despite his success with Stranger Things<\/em>, Montgomery has mostly stepped away from acting since he exited the series in 2022, having only appeared in the films Better Watch Out<\/em> (2017), The Broken Hearts Gallery<\/em> (2020) and Elvis<\/em> (2022). His upcoming movie Went Up the Hill<\/em>, in theaters Friday, August 15, marks his return to the industry.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not trying to compete with anyone else, I\u2019m living my truth and hopefully being able to pay the rent while I\u2019m doing it,\u201d Montgomery explained.<\/p>\n

He continued, \u201cI\u2019ve given a piece of myself to every role I\u2019ve played and that\u2019s largely why I\u2019ve taken time off. Lately, there\u2019s been a lot of personal reflection about what I want in my career. I\u2019m trying to gain a bit more control over where and what I\u2019m working on.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n Dacre Montgomery<\/span> Netflix<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In addition to his role in Went Up the Hill<\/em>, he is also set to star in and make his directorial debut in the upcoming drama The Engagement Party<\/em>. However, he told The Daily Telegraph<\/em> in 2024 that he initially planned to stay behind the camera for the movie.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not looking for this to be an engine for my acting career at all,\u201d Montgomery said at the time. \u201cI want to direct, and I\u2019m serious about directing, so I\u2019m taking it seriously and not trying to use it as something else.\u201d<\/p>\n

Montgomery is not expected to appear in Stranger Things<\/em> season 5, which is slated to premiere in November. However, he told ScreenRant<\/em><\/a> on August 6 that he was excited for series creators Matt Duffer<\/strong> and Ross Duffer<\/strong> to close out the show.<\/p>\n

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