It's such a thrill walking onto a film set.
— Dacre Montgomery
I recall very early Mel Gibson films where he's kind of cheeky. I wanted to embody those qualities, definitely.
I think that your relationship is always changing with your siblings.
It's been an amazing journey. I've been pursuing a career in this industry for a long time, so when I was finally given an opportunity, I didn't take it for granted.
I was probably about 10 years old when I said to Mom, 'I'd really like to pursue a career in front of the camera.'
I'm writing; I'm teaching myself writing.
When I filmed 'Power Rangers,' almost everything was being assisted by a green screen, but it wasn't the same with 'Stranger Things.'
That's part of the dream - doing my own stunts!
I'm a total cinephile. I try to watch everything I can.
It's not just the actor in front of the camera. And it's important to have respect for all those people that work behind the camera.
We'd be doing parkour on my high school roof; we'd get in trouble. But I was never a reckless kid.
I came from drama school, and it's a group of 18 people working together in every single production and splitting up the roles for three years, so I am very much about the team.
I was into Batman. I was into Spider-Man.
I was a really big kid.
I had a really tough time in high school.
I always just like to improvise, and that goes for my audition tapes as well.
It's one huge arc right until you're in your early 20s. You're always changing and always learning, but it's very much that chapter in your life: fall crazy in love, become extremely angry at little things. It's a tumultuous time.
You can't always be by the book every single day of your life.
Cara Buono is a lovely, lovely lady.
I'm looking for the thing that is different from the antagonist in 'Stranger Things,' different from the protagonist in 'Power Rangers,' and something that will really continue these two amazing opportunities I've been given.
It's more difficult for me to get into a character in the lead-up as opposed to leaving it.
I love food, and my girlfriend comes from an architecture background, so we might open up a restaurant.
I like different actors for different reasons. There are people like Tom Cruise, who have continued to stay on top of their game, and Hugh Jackman, for being one of the hardest working people in Hollywood.
My parents worked in the film industry, but they both worked behind the camera, so I like to think that I have a really good understanding of how all the parts of the puzzle come together to make a film or TV show.
I wasn't a good kid in school. I wasn't a bad kid. I just didn't focus. My grades weren't good. I mucked around, you know, a phase everyone went through.
I didn't have any friends. I was bullied. I didn't play sports.
Growing up, I was into 'Power Rangers.'
I was really fat in school.
In terms of my actual acting, I don't really like to to copy anyone or replicate anything that I've seen.
I was bullied in high school, and it's interesting coming from the other side of the camera lens, finding out that all of these people that I thought were my antagonists in my life were probably just as insecure as I was at that age.
It'd been about four months since shooting 'Power Rangers,' and 'Stranger Things' was the first thing I saw that made me think, 'I need this.' I had one day to get my act together, so I made a short film rather than a self-tape. It had an opening score, opening titles, and I may or may not have put on a g-string and danced to 'Hungry Like a Wolf.'
For me, there is always a certain level of recklessness that, I think, gives you a certain foundation, that makes you more interesting as a person.
My mom's a psychologist, and so is my grandfather.
I think we live in this interesting point where if you know how to and you're interested in capitalizing on social media for good and for brand building, there's so much potential.
I have the same wind-down routine when I go to bed, whether I'm shooting or not. It's nothing too special - maybe some TV, maybe a book.
Acting is my interest, but it opens up avenues.
I have so much drive and passion for this industry and the creative arts, and I want other kids to have that kind of drive, and to have a fire in their belly for whatever industry that they want to get into.
My mum didn't really let me watch TV until I was about 5 years old.
I am the biggest geek and fan of film and TV, and I just go through phases.
It sounds super cliche, but my sister is 12 years younger than me, and I remember when I was there holding her in my arms for the first time. And that kind of responsibility you feel when you hold a child in your arms.
After Year 12, I went to Vancouver for my gap year and met an agent who told me to lose 25 kg.
