Pro Acting Coach Breaks Down Dacre Montgomery's Stranger Things Audition and Why it Got Him the Part 

Dacre: Breathes... Acting Coach: Notice how he decides to incorporate breathing into his audition...Very subtle, but it's one of my favorite things about this audition.

- time before starts saying the lines - looking at the camera/viewer - no darting eyes - moving closer to the frame to make the scene more dramatic - full body in preformance - fully connected in the scene, listening - maintaining the power of the character - lets the scene breathe - image how it would be on scene/set - wardrobe change - an actor that is confident with the choices that they have made will not be restricted physically in their preformance

... I don't think anyone on earth could miss him cracking his knuckles and neck. I saw that he was in character instantly.

I think the breaking of the rules is a nod to the recklessness of Billy as a person, which, I think, is a great implicit way to attract attention and make it stick. Great analysis, very helpful!

As an actor, I took inspiration after seeing Dacre's self-tape years ago. Ever since then I have implemented what I learned and booked way more often! It helps to not be scared to make a choice as an actor and Dacre just goes for it. Too many actors are too scared of making the "wrong" choice that they end up making NO CHOICE AT ALL!

i genuinely hope he gets many big opportunities he is an amazing actor can’t wait to see more of his projects !

I'm sure he knew in advance that he would have scenes of being shirtless. His agent gave him some of that inside knowledge, or the script did, or breakdowns had a note, and he took an opportunity to show his body to help him get the role. IMO

Billy is such an intense character and Dacre captures that so well, definitely in the eyes

Dacre Montgomery is definitely one to watch,he's so talented,a sublime actor,he puts me in mind of a young Rob Lowe crossed with a young Mickey Rourke,very charismatic,and magnetic to watch.

I think a HUGE part of his success is his appearance. During S3 Billy was one of the main characters, and whenever I saw him I kept saying “this guy is so damn handsome like it’s actually crazy”

Going shirtless was fantastic. I’m sure the character breakdown mentioned Billy worked as a lifeguard, so he played a scene ‘in costume’. Like the car scene, his shirt was his ‘costume’. Dacré literally played each scene as if he was actually on set being filmed. It worked cause it showed he knew the scene and character inside out, took it seriously and didn’t treat it like an audition, but like a visual of what they would actually see on film if they cast him. Showed his preparation and dedication to the role, which is what directors want to see. Amazing actor. He will go far.

When auditioning for a role in theatre good tip is doing a lot of big gestures and using levels to make it more exciting. When auditioning for TV roles it is good idea to not use that many gestures if its not natural, and moving your head a lot isn't that great because in shows, their are a lot of close ups and so moving ur head looks a lot more chaotic.

The power in his audition tape alone is amazing, he moulded himself into the character so well - I couldn’t imagine anyone else as Billy

Thank you for the breakdown!! I saw that audition before and knew it worked, but it's great to see how/why it worked!

This tape was very interesting. Dacre went ahead and gave his best for this show, can't see anyone else in his place. Awesome to hear a professional analyse it and bring up stuff that maybe went over regular people's heads!

He was so good in Stranger Things. I loved every scene he was in, favorite character in that season for me

Dacre: moves finger Dance coach: “ Did you see how he moved his finger so lightly? His finger slowly moves and it’s gravity and strength brings it down. This is why this is the best audition.”

We really need to all appreciate the risks he went through in the entire audition tape. This was probably the role of a lifetime for him and he decided to most likely go way beyond what he was asked to do, as what stated “if this tape was bad these parts would be annoying”. Even him dancing instead of driving the car like he was asked to do. All those thing if he didn’t get the part would have been massive regrets and easy points to why he didn’t get it, yet he did. I mean it’s insane. I don’t know whether it was pure luck or just him feeling like he fit the role perfectly but he did it man respect

Thank you for this and all you do, my brother booked a big job thanks to your help. He doesn't do social media or these types of platforms so I speak on his behalf.

I wonder if him not getting any more roles is a choice, because he’s a great actor especially for someone who doesn’t have a lot of professional experience.

Dacre, upon learning about his personal life being bullied... I feel as if he took inspiration from his high school bullies. Transformed it into his character of Billy. Either way, absolutely amazing character. I'm glad I was able to see him throughout the series.

Brilliant. And can we talk about the guy behind the lens feeding him the lines? That helps with the energy!

I love that he picked a scene from Stand By Me! He chose a badass character (played by Kiefer Sutherland) and I imagine that helps him step into a similar character

look how he’s so still, not moving an inch, brilliant! at the same time look how he is using entire body, also brilliant! Everything is Brilliant!

Billy's scenes in 2 and 3 were always fantastic. Such a brilliant actor; he needs to land more roles.

he has almost a directors way of setting things up and that seems to be what makes this most appealing he knows not only how to act but what frames work and sound levels, moving closer etc., something a director would tell and actor to do, he does the bare version of that and it makes it work

This analysis is very insightful! Dacre Montgomery seems as though he's watched a lot of Kiefer Sutherland's younger work. Everything about this tape is extremely similar to Sutherland's character and performance in "Stand by Me". Brilliant actor to admire and model the voice and mannerisms after. "Good artists copy. Great artists steal." - Pablo Picasso

i am not even surprised he got the role if i was the casting director i wouldn't even need to see the other self-tapes after watching dacre's one because he literally killed it!!

I would love to see Joseph Quinn's audition tape for Stranger things season 4.

I’ve actually heard that they liked his first audition tape and then told him to send in more with himself dancing shirtless

Just a few minutes in, and I just have to say there's a reason they say silence is a powerful actor within itself. It has beautiful impact on the performance in all the right ways when executed through the mind of a confident person.

I love the fact he used Kiefer playing Ace in "Stand by me" for the first scene. Fits him extremely well and can also use a lot of Ace in Billy too!

Channeling Kiefer Sutherlands character in “Stand by Me”. He did the homework and it really shows his commitment. Love this.

I used to work at a Starbucks in a Target. Had a guest come and order coffee, a real handsome man with his wife, a bit older and they looked quite wealthy. Anyways, they were regulars at our store and so they started talking with me and saying how amazing and kind I was. Asked me what I wanted to do, and I said, "I want to be an actress for film one day". Well, turns out his daughter was an actress and had been in some film and TV and he said the reason she got casting directors' attention was that she brought a prop and placed it on the stage and then continued with her audition without using it once. It stood out; he had told me. I never have forgotten it. This tape reminds me of that.

The great thing about this audition is he showcases his skill-set in being able to “use the camera” he understands his talent has to be workable on camera. He showcases this to let the Director/producers know they will not have to overwork him to understand “the shot” time is money, this is an actor who knows how to work. Understands, the pace, the style, the angles...he is more than talented he is skilled.

This was really helpful!! Thank you! I often hear a lot of technical talk in terms of self-tape, but not enough breaking down the actual performance tips. 🙏🏽

This video is currently under 1,000 views but should gain traction with the months and years to come. Cody does an excellent job breaking down every moment in detail. Have fun with your audition tapes! Try things, do different takes, only question your risks when editing-- not during the recording. Watch it all back and be your own biggest critic-- maybe reshoot the whole thing again to make a few small adjustments. "well that's gonna be a lot of work "................. Do you want the part? and you know what? (maybe you don't get the part, but they loved your tape and you end up getting a gig on a different project) 🤷‍♂️

lmao when he said we probably missed the neck cracking….how could we miss it if we’re watching it’s so obvious…? 😭

0:45 "First of all, he's shirtless."

The first scene dialogue hes acting out is from a movie called “Stand By me” written by Stephen King. If you haven’t watched it yet, you definitely should !!

This is why I am a proud fan of Dacre!

It's even hard to comment! He is absolutely killing it! Fascinating, thank you very much for the video! I feel like if I were a director in any case would want to hire this actor for some leading role ))

Billy was the best acted role on stranger. Looking forward to more from this guy

This is practically like a masterclass for self-tapes. Obviously it's not license to break the rules. It worked for Dacre because the character of Billy broke the rules and externally so unapologetic. There are so many lessons here about control, intention, eyes, movement, use of the frame. Where you said an actor that is confident behind the choices that they have made will not be restricted physically in their performance summed it up perfectly. Now to put in the work.

As an Australian, I am so proud of our Aussie home grown. He is from my home town Perth and went to a school a couple suburbs over from where I live ❤

He is so good. God bless him.

3:51: The actual true meaning of "less is more" (in regards to camera acting). Wouldn't you agree, Cody? I'm planning on setting up some tapes soon and this acting technique has been pretty much codified in my mind and soul ever since I read Stanislavski. For some reason, new younger actors seem to think that you have to use all of your facial muscles to tell a story or express your character's intent in a normal conversational dialogue/monologue . Doing this will not only take away from the realism of a scene, but will be seen as lack of control in part of the actor - even worse, the actor will come across as very "cliche" and take away the audience's focus. CASTING DIRECTORS HATE CLICHE ACTING BECAUSE IT DISTURBS ATTENTION DESTROYS INTEREST!!! While you could get away with doing this on theater, it never succeeds on camera.

Love this! This is exactly what I’m looking for when I’m casting!

So good. And he's auditioning with a scene from Stand By Me. Stand by Me was the movie that inspired me to do acting myself.

great video! Could you do more video's like these on other self-tapes?

Him: ‘you see the way he breathes, most actors can’t do this and in fact end up suffocating to death’

This is the reason why Dacre is one of my top favorite actors. Because he takes his time to get into the character. He even decided to gain weight for the role of Billy Hargrove because abs and big muscles weren't that popular in the 80's. I find that so inspiring.

This is excellent analysis and advice. Thank You!! 🙏🏽

YOU'RE THE BEST ACTING CHANNEL I'VE EVER WATCHED I JUST CAME ACROSS THIS CHANNEL(THE CRYING ON CUE VIDEO) AND IT WORKED COMPLETELY AMAZINGLY!!!! THANK YOU I THINK I WILL TALK TO MY PARENTS NOW ABOUT ACTING!!! :D

I’ve broken rules like this before - it paid off when I auditioned for Sushi Girl and Zombeavers, I took my top off (a swimsuit under my shirt and threw the top at the director). But I “broke a rule” in an HBO audition and they hated me! Haha.

This audition tape is a masterpiece! I watch it a lot lol

I recall the roll tape for House by Hugh Laurie. Right from the seated shot he WAS Greg House. I don’t think, initially, they even realised who he was: a frequently geeky but notable, English, comic actor.

This guys so good I didn't realize he's the red power ranger until this vid. He's a completely different character in Stranger things

The more I watch this the more I'm able to realize more details and the easier it becomes to mimic this with my own practice tapes.

He is a good actor. I can see him in an MCU film some day. I think he would be good as Johnny Storm or Scott Summers.

I need more dacre content he's so good!

I'm taking notes and I will use these techniques in my next self tape. Thank you 🙏

Feel like over the years the standards are going to change especially if audition tapes like these get past , it's not a bad thing at all and an industry that remains stagnant won't go anywhere so changes and updates to industry standards should be welcome.

This guy should show the whole video first and then do a piece by piece review

This is my favorite audition tape

choosing one of kieffer sutherland's most iconic scenes was a genius move on his part

One thing: he got very lucky. He's good, mind you. But the sad truth is that most casting directors will stop you or will complain if you don't start saying your lines right away or if you make pauses. And miming actions is border line to say the least. Just my opinion here, but I don't advise actors to take this self-tape as an example. Not because it's bad, but because casting directors are strange beasts.

Stand by Me. Great scene. „Just you Ace“

IVE NEEDED THIS VIDEO MY PAST 8 YEARS AS AN ACTOR

I remember being introduced to him in power rangers and was shocked how good he was.

Good stuff, great analysis. You could let a bit more of the scene play before you break it down. Like you could even let you know 30 seconds ago and then go back and break it down piece by piece but letting us see it first. I feel like it’s stopping like every two seconds.

Thank you so much for doing this!

I can just tell he knows what he’s doing

I think him being a dead ringer for a sexy young Rob Lowe helped since the show takes heavy 80s cues and rob was a 80s heartthrob

Love this breakdown, im not really particularly into acting but this is cool to know!

All I can say is thank you!

This was great. Very informative to see this breakdown.

I don't think I realized before that he was acting out a scene from Stand By Me for his audition.

Love this! 🙌🙌 More of these!! 💗

Thank you! Please make more videos like this

he was reading from stand by me i love that

He chose to do Ace’s monologue from “Stand By Me”, great choice there for a the first scene!!

dont break the rules, but do break the rules...but if you do we will just throw your tape out...unless we straight book you for it...got it

So mad he's not billy anymore...I miss his character...

We NEED Billy in season 4😡

I think ppl should realize that it was not just the way he acts that makes it good, rather his appearance attributes to the full look of a character... And i kinda felt sad because appearance is one of a big deal, you have to look appealing as well. I actually remember looking at the judges and one looks so bored or disgusted that he just felt so unmotivated to judge my performance. I felt insecure afterwards because i looked so ordinary.

Absolutely Loved this, he's Awesome and this helped me to understand self tapes Goals as an actress!! Thanks so much for this!!! 🎉🥰💯

He is literally amazing and love ur video sm subscribed : DD !!!!

This actor should be in the MCU

I loved his "Swimming Lessons" scene with Mrs. Wheeler. I know a guy just like that 😍

Great video. Loved him in Elvis, too.

Love this break down! Thanks

i’m not an established actor, i just record audition tapes for fun here and there, however, watching this i notice that a lot of things that he’s doing like using his full body, positioning of himself in the frame, etc. are things i’ve always done naturally when “pretending” to be a different character. it’s kind of making me question if maybe i should start trying to act, as i don’t feel like i’m necessarily bad at it, but i’m also scared because i don’t have any training or anything and i feel like in order to be successful i’d need that.

Wow, this was awesome, learned a lot.

He reminds me of Kiefer Sutherland playing the bad boy role in Stand By Me.

So in short, as long as you are incredibly handsome and talented, the rules don’t matter.

So he made it so immersive in a good, subtle way the casting got a much better sense of what it would be like for him to actually be on set? And the overall confidence is what may have won them over?

Thank you! Excellent breakdown.

awesome analysis.

When the subtitles caught Dacre as Dicker BAHAHA 😂😅 took me a second to figure out what was going on