David Harbour revealed his admiration for the uninhibited comfort displayed by his young co-stars during a recent panel in Los Angeles reflecting on the early seasons of Stranger Things.
The 51-year-old actor, who played Jim Hopper, noted that working alongside Finn Wolfhard, Millie Bobby Brown, and Noah Schnapp provided a stark contrast to typical child actors who often maintain a highly controlled demeanor on set.
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"These kids were just enjoyable as hell," said Harbour.
He explained that the authentic, unfiltered behavior of the young cast members became one of their greatest strengths during filming.
"A lot of kid actors that you work with are very actor-y, and part of the strength of the actors that they formed were that, at their essence, they were just kids," Harbour said.
Harbour humorously pointed out that this comfort level extended to actions most adult professionals would feel too self-conscious to perform during a scene.
"During takes, they would fart and do things that you just couldn't believe that you had the relaxation to do that in front of a camera," he remarked.
The environment stood out to Harbour because he had spent over two decades navigating traditional, highly structured film sets before securing his breakout role on the show.
"I was like, I would dream of being able to do that and not being self-conscious in that way!"
he said.
Despite his appreciation for the production, Harbour admitted on the Happy Sad Confused podcast that he maintains a high standard for the series and experiences strong emotional reactions when episodes fall short of his expectations.
"I can be very critical of this show," Harbour said.
He elaborated that his personal attachment to the narrative makes him highly opinionated about the series' trajectory, regardless of its global success or fan consensus.
"I'm very close to the show, so I have very strong opinions.
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And they may not match yours if you're a fan of the show," he said on the podcast.
Reflecting on the initial production cycle, Harbour expressed that the emotional weight of portraying an alcoholic, grief-stricken chief of police was balanced by the deep bonds formed among the production team.
"These were real, beautiful human beings, and they were such a joy to work with; I had a blast," he praised.
Harbour characterized the first season as a profoundly transformative milestone that provided him with unprecedented professional fulfillment.
"I look back on that first season as being a miraculous time in my life.
Hopper was a very depressed individual, it was really tough to go through the acting of that, but the family that we created and the story that we were telling, I don't know if I've ever felt that enriched by some work that I was doing," he explained.
Instant Casting Process
The panel also highlighted the rapid nature of Harbour's initial hiring, which occurred after casting directors brought his audition tape to show creators Matt and Ross Duffer, who had initially considered other actors like Billy Crudup.
"One of our casting directors thought he could be great for the role. He came and read.
He just did one take.
We weren't even there, we just saw the tape, and it was just so clear, instantly: This is Hopper.
And we just cast him right then and there," explained Duffer.
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The final season of Stranger Things recently concluded filming, marking the completion of the global franchise that began production nearly a decade ago.
