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Dacre Montgomery gained significant renown after scoring the role of the Red Ranger in the 2017 Power Rangers movie and he’s shown no signs of slowing down since. After Power Rangers, it was on to one of the hottest TV shows out there, Netflix’s Stranger Things, and now he stars opposite Geraldine Viswanathan in the utterly delightful romantic comedy, The Broken Hearts Gallery.

From my perspective, the work seems effortless to Montgomery. He’s a warm, soft spoken charmer in Broken Hearts Gallery, significantly contributed to giving the Power Rangers movie a grounded quality, and brought a next-level intensity to the role of Billy in Stranger Things. Even as he racks up some mighty impressive credits, Montgomery admits he still suffers from nerves on every single set. Here’s how he put it during out Broken Hearts Gallery interview:

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Image via Sony Pictures

“I’m always nervous. Like, always. That’s one of the big reasons I can’t do theater. I suffer really badly from nerves. Anything, anywhere. Red carpets, whatever it be! But I definitely know that feeling in myself when I feel like I have relaxed enough in a character and I’m kind of in my head going, ‘Okay, I’m on the right track for myself,’ even if it’s not the right track with the director or the audience or so on; I’m always trying to look for that. And I’ve really only had that one moment in my career where I walked on set and I was like, ‘I deserve to be here.’ Every other moment, I kind of have this thing of, I don’t deserve to be here. There’s 50,000 people that want it behind me, and that’s what I think drives me to work harder, because I’m like, ‘Well, if I’m here and I’m not good enough, I might as well work 50,000 times harder than those people behind me.’ And I think that’s all that I think I can strive for.”

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Image via Netflix

What was that one moment Montgomery referred to? It actually happened on the set of Stranger Things:

Stranger Things Season 3, the sauna scene we shot over a whole week with Shawn Levy, and I just put everything I had into it. And I think it was the first time I walked on set and went, ‘I’m gonna f*cking own the sh*t out of this.’ And I think it was a liberating moment but also just always reminding myself to keep working hard and be extremely appreciative of the opportunities I’m given.”

As a big believer that nerves come from a place of deep passion, I hope Montgomery continues to use them as a motivating factor. But, as a big fan of the work he’s delivered thus far, I also hope he gives himself the credit he deserves. 

If you’d like to hear more from Montgomery and Viswanathan about their experience making The Broken Hearts Gallery, click here for the full interview!