Stranger Things co-star Dacre Montgomery is opening up about those fan theories that his character is gay.
Billy — one of several new characters sprinkled into the second season of the show — is adding plenty of drama to the already-dramatic saga by proving himself a terrible bully towards Steve Harrington (Joe Keery).
This has led some viewers to think there might be some romantic subtext.
But the Australian actor was quick to shut down that line of thinking in a recent HuffPo interview:
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“Somebody touched on that the other day,” he says.
“‘Is Billy attracted to Steve?’ And I was like, ‘No, I don’t think he is.’
I don’t think it’s like this confused, homoerotic kind of thing. I think it’s literally he’s threatened by all these characters in his life.”
Viewers have been rattled by Billy’s backstory, which includes his deadbeat dad calling him a “faggot.”
Montgomery says he found use of the slur “jarring” but says its germane to the overall story and “needed to be left in.”
“It does scream so many things about the time and about how freely this particular character [uses] this word. So I think it says a lot more than what a douchebag my dad is.”
It’s the beginning of a lot of stuff. We sort of chatted a bit with [Stranger Things creators Matt and Ross Duffer] about humanising the villain and seeing Billy as a real person.”
He also hints the character will grow even more malignant in future iterations of the show.
“There’s something far more sinister going on with Billy,” he says. “We’ll see how that unfolds.”
Related: ‘Mystery Science Theater’ perfectly skewers ‘Stranger Things’
Luc
I thought his character was gay, too. There were a couple scenes that made me think he is a deeply closeted self-hater. But he’s an awful person in the show so if he is gay, its not exactly a “win.” haha
Also, Dacre Montgomery is BEAUTIFUL. Even with that awful haircut in the show. Hot!!!
Kieru
I feel that people who are reading ‘Closeted Homosexual’ into Dacre’s character are, perhaps, forgetting that Stranger Things is still a period piece.
Elements like the father using that slur, Billy’s short shorts or obsessive attention to grooming, preening in front of the mirror and the heightened sense of bravado are all core elements of 80s film and television. Billy is this sort of amalgamation of every 80s film “macho male teen” stereotype.
PinkoOfTheGange
Excellent point.
Jaxton
Since when are young actors the font of wisdom? For Pete’s sake, they read lines written by somebody else.
PinkoOfTheGange
Depends on the person. But he does have the writers’ and show runner’s input on his character’s backstory, and we don’t; so between him and us, he has a better understanding of his character.
Ashke113
Wow seriously, people are always trying to make someone gay because the character is mean or doesn’t have a gf or becaise he dresses to the right……get the hell over it. NOT EVERYONE HAS TO BE GAY NOR DOES A GAY CHARACTER HAVE TO BE IN EVERY MOVIE, TV SHOW OR DAMN PICTURE……