Dacre Montgomery addresses acting break after ‘Stranger Things’

Netflix breakout star Dacre Montgomery had to take an acting hiatus after Stranger Things fame, but he has a solid reason for stepping back following his breakout role.

Speaking to PEOPLE, Montgomery opened up about his role in the Netflix hit series and the fame and opportunities the show brought him.

“I think with Stranger Things — as with any big show on Netflix — it's kind of like you lose your anonymity overnight,” Montgomery told the outlet. “And it was amazing and overwhelming and a combination of many things, and I felt really lucky and really fortunate to have that opportunity.”

The actor further explained that growing up, he was fond of working with different directors on arthouse films, testing himself in character development, and eventually falling in love with storytelling.

“And when Stranger Things came out, I felt like … I was really being pushed in a commercial direction,” he said, adding that this was the reason he decided to take a break.

The Elvis actor shared that he wanted to “take time to step back” and figure out the kinds of roles he preferred, the filmmakers he wanted to collaborate with, and the type of films he wanted to pursue.

Montgomery also revealed he had to wait for the right role to come along.

“That sort of stuff takes time to kind of reverse engineer a career that's going one way into a different direction. It takes time, and I can’t just generate an amazing story [and] an amazing director in front of my eyes,” he explained.

The actor added that it took him five to six years to shift his career toward his desired direction, and now he feels like he’s in a “really good space.”

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