David Harbour Says His Younger Stranger Things Co-Stars Haven't Had The Childhood He Wishes They Could Have

David Harbour has spoken out about his Stranger Things co-stars growing up in the spotlight.

The actor took on the role of chief of Hawkins Police Department Jim Hopper while in his forties. However, many of the show's central cast, such as Millie Bobby Brown and Finn Wolfhard, began the hit Netflix series while only young teenagers.

Harbour has since reflected on his concerns for his co-stars because of them having found fame so young.

Alamy

Millie Bobbie Brown, Finn Wolfhard, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Sadie Sink and Noah Schnapp make up the youngest of the Stranger Things cast.

At just 17, Schnapp started the show when he was only 12.

Harbour reflected on the precarious nature of being thrust into the public eye at such a young age.

He said: "[The Stranger Things young cast] are involved in something that is a minefield.

"The popularity and the money that they’re dealing with at 12 and 13 years old is… it just makes you an adult. They don’t really get to have the childhood that I wish they could."

Netflix

Harbour has previously opened up about his concerns for the young Stranger Things cast.

He told The Envelope Podcast: "I know what it's like to go to the mall. I know what it's like to be bullied and humiliated. People not think I'm great. I know what it's like to have to find friends, not to have people come to me. I don't know that they'll ever have that feeling.

"I see what these kids have to deal with and, look, whatever. I mean, there's a lot of people that go through, I guess, a lot worse stuff. But mentally and psychologically, I think getting extremely famous and being so doted on at 11 years old is really hard for the psyche to reconcile with."

Alamy

The actor's preoccupation with childhood has been spurred on because of two children now being a very central part of his own life.

On Monday, 7 September, 2020, Harbour married British pop singer Lily Allen in a Las Vegas wedding ceremony.

Allen has two daughters who 'came as part of the package,' who Harbour has now taken on the role of stepfather to.

He said: "It was lucky for me because I am now in a relationship with three women. Very strong-minded women.

"[It] has brought a whole new depth to my life that I never had before. Made me an entirely new man. And that’s wonderful."

If you have a story you want to tell, send it to UNILAD via [email protected]  

Topics: David Harbour, Stranger Things, Film and TV, Money, Celebrity

Poppy Bilderbeck

Poppy Bilderbeck is a Senior Journalist at LADbible Group. She graduated from The University of Manchester in 2021 with a First in English Literature and Drama, where alongside her studies she was Editor-in-Chief of The Tab Manchester. Poppy is most comfortable when chatting about all things mental health, is proving a drama degree is far from useless by watching and reviewing as many TV shows and films as possible and is such a crisp fanatic the office has been forced to release them in batches.