Dacre Montgomery Returns With Indie Thriller Went Up the Hill

Dacre Montgomery is returning to the screen with a deeply personal project after a multi-year pause, saying he stepped back from Hollywood to reassess his career in a changing industry. The Australian actor premieres Went Up the Hill, an indie thriller that marked his return to acting, at the Toronto International Film Festival this year and opens in theaters later this summer. Montgomery describes the film as a demanding three-hander in which two actors portray the same second character, a concept that challenged him in a way he had been seeking since leaving the mainstream spotlight.

In Went Up the Hill, Montgomery plays Jack, who returns to New Zealand after his estranged mother’s death and encounters the widow of that mother, played by Vicky Krieps. The two grapple with their shared grief while inhabiting the spirit of the deceased woman. The film’s mood and premise were central to Montgomery’s decision to return to acting after a period of reflection. He says the project, and its director, Samuel Van Grinsven, offered a precise creative vision: a mood deck that conveyed a strong, specific idea of the movie. That clarity, he explains, was exactly what he’d hoped to find...