If there was ever a more detestable TV character than 13 Reasons Why’s Bryce Walker, it would have to be the naturally violent Montgomery “Monty” de la Cruz.
Timothy Granaderos has done a truly excellent job at bringing to life one of TV’s most complex and multi-layered villains, as we’ve seen Monty barely survive through abusive home life, the struggles with his sexuality and the pressures he faces at school.
In season two, we lay witness to one of the most confronting and sickening scenes not just on the forever controversial 13 Reasons Why, but in TV history, when Monty sexually assaulted Tyler in the school’s bathroom.
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Now that Monty’s journey has (maybe) come to an end in season three, the man who portrayed him has spoken out about how he wanted his character to go – and it seems Timothy wasn’t a fan of Monty’s bleak ending.
Speaking with Seventeen Magazine about Monty’s overall story arc and his eventual death at the end of season three, Timothy said: “When I found out [Monty died], I was jaw to the floor, surprised and shocked.
“Sometimes Brian Yorkey, our showrunner, approaches us at the beginning of the season and he’s like, ‘Look I have this idea for where we’re gonna go with it.’ I found out two very pivotal kind of story points for Monty as the season played out and that was one of them.”
Timothy continued by saying he felt Monty’s death was ‘sad’: “And to be at the central part of the narrative was cool, but it was also kind of sad cause it was the end of his story and my story, I guess.”
Timothy also revealed to Seventeen that he felt Monty dying in prison was a ‘tragic end’: “I actually found out during the final third of the season. I didn’t know that Monty was going to be killed off until later on, but I knew I was going to prison. And then once I found that out it happened in prison, I was like ‘Oh, it’s so cold and lonely in there.’ It’s a tragic ending to a sad story.”
Timothy also opened up about Monty’s sexuality and the importance of not labelling his character as ‘gay’ while he’s still experimenting: “Well, I think it’s important to not label Monty as gay cause I think he was just curious at that point. Down the line he may have been fully out, but at that point in his story he was curious with his sexuality.”