‘Stranger Things’ Star Dacre Montgomery Is Unrecognizable Without ’80s Mullet In Hot Modeling Shots

Stranger Things 3 star Dacre Montgomery is making headlines after his starring stint as villain Billy Hargrove on the third season of the Netflix hit, but his fame did not come overnight. The 24-year-old Australian actor paid his dues before landing his game-changing role on the smash streaming series. In recent months, Montgomery has also dabbled in modeling and recently released his own podcast, DKMH, in which he narrates poetry he has written.

While Stranger Things fans know Montgomery as mulleted, mustached, bad boy Billy, the actor’s Instagram tells a different story. Montgomery’s social media page is filled with dapper modeling poses from GQ Germany, Men’s Health Australia and many more high-end publications.

Montgomery — who also looked completely different in an earlier role as Jason Lee Scott, the Red Power Ranger in the 2017 Power Rangers movie reboot — was totally clean-shaven for his recent GQ Germany shoot. In the cover photo, the actor is unrecognizable to Stranger Things fans. Montgomery is completely clean-shaven and wears a preppy yellow, zippered sweater as he stares straight-on at the camera with eyes that would have Mrs. Wheeler melting at the Hawkins community pool. The title to the cover story, which readers can see below, introduces the actor as “Bad Boy: Stranger Things Star Dacre Montgomery.”

More recently, Montgomery shaved his ’80s ‘stache for a cover model shoot for Men’s Health Australia. The Perth-born star is clean-shaven with a short haircut and biceps blazing, as he poses in a white tank top and ripped jeans in a cover story titled “Stronger Things.”

In the accompanying interview with Men’s Health, Montgomery revealed that when he was in high school he had far from the lifeguard bod that his Netflix character boasts. Montgomery revealed that he was actually 30 pounds heavier in high school, didn’t play sports and “wasn’t good looking.”

After a rough ride in high school, Montgomery lost over 30 pounds by “purely just going to the gym and getting on the treadmill and running.”

Montgomery joined a night-time power boxing class to get himself cut for his Power Rangers role, but for Stranger Things‘ Billy, he transformed into a “chunkier, more muscly version” of himself by increasing his carb intake and adding resistance bands, light weight and high reps.

Even with his good looks, Montgomery’s acting career didn’t come easy. The Stranger Things star recently tweeted that he spent 10 years pursuing a career before he booked anything. Montgomery also recently posted a video of a failed audition to YouTube, as he reminded fans to always take risks and believe in themselves.

“Do not be afraid to fail,” Montgomery wrote.

Montgomery previously told Teen Vogue he always wanted to get into acting because his parents worked behind the camera in the film industry. The future Stranger Things star began pursuing acting at age nine and earned an acting degree from Edith Cowan University in 2015.

Readers can see a baby-faced Dacre Montgomery in the Power Rangers clip below.

Stranger Things 3 is currently streaming on Netflix.