The debut of Stranger Things 2 brought with it a handful of new characters, with one of the more controversial additions being Billy, played by Dacre Montgomery. The character brought moments of both intense fear and hilarity, both of which are on full display in the actor’s audition tape for the role. You can check out the tape in the video below.
Videos by ComicBook.com
As the older brother of new character Max (Sadie Sink), Billy would often lean into the cantankerous older brother bullying that we’ve seen in countless films. Moments between the two of them, however, hinted at a much darker side of Billy, showcasing that he was far more nefarious than an annoying older brother.
At times, Billy also brings some humor to the series, most notably when he hits on Mike’s (Finn Wolfhard) mom when trying to discover where Max might be.
Billy’s seemingly overprotective nature and desire to keep his sister away from Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin) has drawn comments about the character’s subtle racism.
“When I first started reading the description between Billy and Lucas, I was like, ‘Oh, you know, he’s a racist dick,” Montgomery admitted to The Huffington Post.
“I think he feels threatened,” Montgomery confessed. “Like I said, these male figures in his life, whether it’s Lucas, Steve (Joe Keery), his dad (Will Chase), whoever these different characters that embody his world are … if Max is that one constant, he knows he needs to drop off and look after [her].”
“If any of these characters object with that person and his relationship with that person, it’s a threatened kind of behavior,” Montgomery pointed out. “It’s that animalistic side of like, ‘You’re threatening my sibling, my world. What are you doing? Who is this boy who’s trying to weave his way into my life through my sister?’”
The Duffer Brothers, who created the series, intentionally wanted to bring in Billy as a threat in hopes of incorporating a villainous presence that had no supernatural origins.
“There’s also a far more sinister side to where everything is going through Billy in the future that we’ve only had very small discussions about, aside from his dad and maybe what it has truly turned him into […] There’s something far more sinister going on with Billy. We’ll see how that unfolds,” Montgomery teased.
Stranger Things 2 is available now on Netflix.
[H/T YouTube, GQ]
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