interview by JANA LETONJAEmmy and Tony Award nominated actor David Harbour recently wrapped production on the fifth and final season of Netflix’s Emmy winning and Golden Globe nominated series ‘Stranger Things’. This May, he will also star in Marvel’s highly anticipated film ‘Thuderbolts*, reprising his role as the Red Guardian. You’ve had an impressive career spanning theater, television, and film. What initially drew you to acting, and how has your approach evolved over the years?I felt like a freak when I was younger. Human beings seemed so foreign to me. I wrote all these little stories about being an alien when I was 6 and 7, and acting became a way for me to express my feelings of alienation and also to represent the facade that I thought all these weird humans were walking around with. The impulse was to express this discomfort but also to make others feel less alone if they too were at a loss. To be honest, that impulse is deep and has stayed fairly consistent. I still want to talk about how weird I think it is to live in civilization and I still want people to feel less alone.

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coat, shirt and scarf ETROjeans LEVI’Sshoes SCAROSSOsunglasses OLIVER PEOPLESFrom Broadway to blockbuster franchises like Marvel and ‘Stranger Things’, you’ve played a diverse range of roles. How do you choose your projects?Whatever is best that comes in front of me, regardless of genre and form. It’s a gut impulse. How good is this? Does is surprise me? Is it entertaining and rich? And then sometimes I’ll take a look at a bank statement and see if bills need to be paid. This also is an influence.‘Stranger Things’ became a cultural phenomenon. How has playing Jim Hopper impacted your career and personal life?It was a watershed. There was life before Hopper and life after Hopper, two utterly different tones. 

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Season 5 marks the end of ‘Stranger Things’. How do you feel about saying go