Every Stranger Things fan has a Billy Hargrove memory: the hair, the Camaro, the cruelty that made him difficult to look away from. Dacre Montgomery is the actor behind Billy, and since the character’s death he has built a less predictable career — moving from a Toronto festival premiere to a Gus Van Sant crime drama — which is why this guide separates the man from the character and answers the questions fans still ask.
Born: 22 November 1994 (IMDb (cast and crew database)) ·
Billy Hargrove: seasons 2–3 plus S4 flashback (Wikipedia (community encyclopedia)) ·
Dead Man’s Wire: limited Jan 9, 2026 · wide Jan 16, 2026 (YouTube interview listing (video source))
Quick snapshot
- Montgomery played Billy Hargrove in Stranger Things seasons 2 and 3 and appeared in season 4 (Wikipedia (community encyclopedia)).
- Why exactly he stepped back from acting is only partly explained.
- Whether a formal, directly sourced statement exists on his support for LGBTQ rights.
- Whether Billy could have been saved if the group had intervened earlier.
- 2017–2022: Stranger Things appears on his filmography (IMDb (cast and crew database)). (Martin Cid Magazine (film culture outlet))
- September 2024: Went Up the Hill premiered in Toronto (Martin Cid Magazine (film culture outlet)).
- Dead Man’s Wire is scheduled for limited release Jan 9, 2026, and wider release Jan 16, 2026 (YouTube interview listing (video source)).
Six facts, one pattern: the post-Billy era is about choosing projects with weight, not chasing volume.
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Full name | Dacre Kayd Montgomery-Harvey (Wikipedia (community encyclopedia)) |
| Born | 22 November 1994, Perth, Australia (Martin Cid Magazine (film culture outlet)) |
| Breakout role | Billy Hargrove in Stranger Things (ScreenDollars (entertainment reference site)) |
| Directorial debut | The Engagement Party, listed in pre-production (IMDb (cast and crew database)) |
| Dead Man’s Wire cast | Bill Skarsgård, Al Pacino, Colman Domingo and Myha’la (ScreenDollars (entertainment reference site)) |
| U.S. release window | Limited Jan 9, 2026; wider Jan 16, 2026 (YouTube interview listing (video source)) |
Is Dacre Montgomery in season 4?
Yes, but not as a living Billy. The return is contained to flashback and memory sequences tied to Max Mayfield.
What role did Dacre Montgomery play in Stranger Things?
- The role: Billy Hargrove, Max’s stepbrother, with the season breakdown shown in the key facts table above.
Why does Billy Hargrove appear in season 4?
- Because season 4 makes Max’s trauma the emotional engine, and Billy is the memory she has not processed.
How is Billy Hargrove shown in Stranger Things 4?
- In flashbacks and visions, not in the present-day Hawkins storyline.
What this means: Billy’s season 4 presence is a measure of his impact on Max, not a revival of the character.
What does Dacre Montgomery do now?
He did not stop working; he stopped accepting work that didn’t carry weight.
The five-year pause was a filter, not a fade-out. Montgomery used the quiet period to wait for material that felt worth the interruption.
Why did Dacre quit acting?
- He didn’t frame it as quitting. The 2025 interview below shows an actor explaining a deliberate pause, not a retirement.
What movies and TV shows has Dacre Montgomery appeared in?
- What We Hide, which lists him as Reece (ScreenDollars (entertainment reference site)).
- Went Up the Hill, the festival film that premiered in Toronto in September 2024 (Martin Cid Magazine (film culture outlet)).
- Dead Man’s Wire, the Gus Van Sant crime drama scheduled for January 2026 (YouTube interview listing (video source)).
What new projects is Dacre Montgomery promoting?
- Dead Man’s Wire leads the comeback. The Engagement Party is the directing follow-up he’s preparing.
The trade-off: a slower filmography makes each credit feel deliberate, which is exactly the point.
How old was Dacre Montgomery during Stranger Things?
The dates line up neatly: Billy’s seasons bracket Montgomery’s early-to-mid twenties.
How old is Dacre Montgomery?
- Born on 22 November 1994, he was 22 when season 2 premiered and 24 when season 3 premiered.
Where was Dacre Montgomery born?
- Perth, Australia, as listed in the key facts table.
What is Dacre Montgomery’s height?
- No reliable height figure was confirmed in the sources reviewed for this guide.
The pattern: the facts that are confirmed about Montgomery are career facts, not just celebrity stats.
Why was Billy so abusive to Max?
The show’s answer is a cycle: Billy hurts Max because Billy has been hurt by his father.
Was Billy being racist in season 2?
- Yes. The season 2 storyline frames Billy’s bullying of Lucas as racial, and it is a deliberate part of the character’s flaws.
Did Billy ever love Max in Stranger Things?
- The script leaves it ambiguous. His final apology hints at buried affection, but the show never calls it love.
Why did Max cry when Billy died?
- Because she is grieving the brother she once knew, not the monster the Mind Flayer made him into.
Billy is one of the least sympathetic characters in Stranger Things, yet his death is one of its most emotionally complicated scenes.
The pattern: Billy’s cruelty is explained but never excused, and Max’s grief holds both truths at once.
Why was Billy killed off in Stranger Things?
He dies because the season 3 finale gives him no exit hatch.
How did Billy die in Stranger Things?
- At Starcourt Mall, after the Mind Flayer uses his body as its host in the season 3 finale.
What were Billy Hargrove’s last words?
- An apology to Max — he tells her he is sorry.
Could they have saved Billy?
- No clear reversal for Mind Flayer possession is established, so the characters didn’t have a workable way to save him.
What this means: Billy’s death is a tragedy with no available fix, which is why the fan debate keeps circling back to “what if.”
Timeline signal
Dates are the ones confirmed above; three career phases stand out.
- 22 November 1994: born in Perth, Australia (Martin Cid Magazine (film culture outlet)).
- 2017–2022: Stranger Things is on his filmography (IMDb (cast and crew database)).
- September 2024: Went Up the Hill premieres in Toronto (Martin Cid Magazine (film culture outlet)).
- January 2026: Dead Man’s Wire enters U.S. theaters (YouTube interview listing (video source)).
The signal: this is a career built in phases, not in straight lines.
Confirmed facts
- Montgomery played Billy in Stranger Things seasons 2 and 3 and appeared in season 4 (Wikipedia (community encyclopedia)).
- ScreenDollars lists him as Reece in What We Hide (ScreenDollars (entertainment reference site)).
- Dead Man’s Wire is scheduled for U.S. release in January 2026 (YouTube interview listing (video source)).
What’s unclear
- Whether a formal public statement from Montgomery on LGBTQ support exists.
- Why he chose his specific career pause beyond wanting different projects.
- Whether Billy could have been saved by earlier intervention.
- What a reliable height figure should be.
Quotes
The previous five years were largely spent away from acting, apart from a small role in Elvis and another unreleased film, in order to wait for projects like Went Up the Hill.
— Dacre Montgomery, as reported by Cinema Australia (Australian film outlet)
Went Up the Hill is set around Jack’s trip to remote New Zealand for his estranged mother’s funeral.
— Samuel Van Grinsven, director, describing the film in an interview with Cinema Australia (Australian film outlet)
The next twelve months will tell whether Montgomery’s selective strategy pays off commercially. For Dacre Montgomery, the stake is clear: let Dead Man’s Wire prove the comeback can carry a wide release, or keep building a festival-backed filmography on his own terms. Either way, Billy Hargrove is no longer the headline.
Frequently asked questions
Does Dacre Montgomery support LGBTQ?
No reliable, directly sourced public statement on the subject was found in the sources reviewed here. Fans often confuse Montgomery with Billy Hargrove, whose on-screen behavior is intentionally harsh.
Who is Dacre Montgomery married to?
The sources reviewed here do not confirm a current spouse.
Where can I find Dacre Montgomery on Instagram?
His verified handle is @dacremontgomery, widely listed with his name in fan and media contexts.
What is Dacre Montgomery’s full name?
Dacre Kayd Montgomery-Harvey, per the Wikipedia profile cited above.
What was Dacre Montgomery’s first major movie?
His breakout was Billy Hargrove in Stranger Things season 2, not a film role.
Was Billy Hargrove a villain or a victim?
The show presents him as both: an abuser shaped by his father’s abuse, and later a vessel for the Mind Flayer.
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Jonathan Ellery is Editor-in-Chief and Responsible Publisher at Press Hive, overseeing editorial standards, publication decisions and the corrections process.