Dacre Montgomery on His All-or-Nothing Career, ‘Dead Man’s Wire’ and Stepping Away From Hollywood After ‘Stranger Things’

There’s a particular way Dacre Montgomery answers questions.

He’s not evasive, but circuitous, like someone walking the perimeter of a truth before deciding how to enter it.

He starts somewhere unexpected, drifts into tangents, then loops back with startling precision to land exactly where he meant to go all along. It’s the conversational equivalent of his career: seemingly wandering, but actually following some internal compass invisible to everyone else.

When we meet to discuss “Dead Man’s Wire,” Gus Van Sant’s darkly comedic exploration of America’s media obsession, Montgomery is five days removed from wrapping his directorial debut. He’s been editing in the car on the way over to the Variety offices. There’s an intensity to him, barely contained, like someone who’s discovered they have more to say than any single medium can hold.

“Gus definitely feels like my spirit animal,” Montgomery says,…