David Harbour
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David Kenneth Harbour, born April 10, 1975, is an American actor who catapulted to global fame for his iconic portrayal of Jim Hopper in the Netflix science fiction series, *Stranger Things*. This role earned him two Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. His leading film roles include the titular character in *Hellboy* (2019), Santa Claus in the action-comedy *Violent Night* (2022), and a former racer in the sports film *Gran Turismo* (2023). Harbour has also donned the mantle of Red Guardian in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, appearing in *Black Widow* (2021), the upcoming *Thunderbolts** (2025), and the highly anticipated *Avengers: Doomsday* (2026). Further expanding his impressive repertoire, he's joined the DC Universe as Eric Frankenstein in the television series *Creature Commandos*.
Born in White Plains, New York, David Harbour's parents, Kenneth and Nancy Harbour, were both involved in the real estate industry. He shared his high school years at Byram Hills High School with fellow actors Sean Maher and Eyal Podell. Graduating from Dartmouth College in 1997, he pursued his passion for drama and Italian, and was an active member of the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity. In his youth, Harbour was a regular at underground poker clubs in New York City, even claiming to have known the real-life gangster who inspired John Malkovich's character, "Teddy KGB," in the film *Rounders*.
Harbour's acting journey began on the stage, performing in Shakespearian productions like *The Tempest* and *Hamlet* with The Theater at Monmouth from 1994 to 1997. He made his Broadway debut in 1999 in the revival of *The Rainmaker*, and that same year, he stepped onto television screens as a waiter in *Law & Order*. He later reappeared in *Law & Order: Special Victims Unit* in 2002, playing a child murderer. He also held a recurring role as MI6 agent Roger Anderson in the ABC series *Pan Am*. In 2005, his performance as Nick in the revival of *Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?* earned him a Tony Award nomination.
His film credits include significant roles such as CIA Agent Gregg Beam in *Quantum of Solace*, Shep Campbell in *Revolutionary Road*, and Russell Crowe's informant in *State of Play*. He garnered critical acclaim for his portrayal of spree killer Paul Devildis in a 2009 episode of *Law & Order: Criminal Intent*. Other notable film appearances include *Brokeback Mountain*, *The Green Hornet*, *End of Watch*, and *Between Us*. In 2013, he had a brief but memorable role as a head doctor in the television series *Elementary*, and from 2012 to 2014, he was a recurring character, Elliot Hirsch, in *The Newsroom*.
Harbour's career trajectory took a significant leap in 2014 when he joined the historical drama series *Manhattan* as Dr. Reed Akley. The following year, he landed the defining role of Chief Jim Hopper in Netflix's *Stranger Things*. This performance led to Emmy nominations in 2017 and 2018 for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series, as well as a Golden Globe nomination in 2018 for Best Supporting Actor. He shared a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series in 2017 with his castmates.
He then took on the lead role in the superhero reboot *Hellboy* in 2019. More recently, he portrayed Alexei Shostakov, also known as Red Guardian, in Marvel's *Black Widow* (2021) and will reprise the role in *Thunderbolts** (2025). His starring roles continue with the Christmas action-comedy *Violent Night* (2022) and Neill Blomkamp's sports film *Gran Turismo* (2023), inspired by the popular video game series.
In his personal life, David Harbour has had notable relationships with Alison Sudol and Julia Stiles. Since 2019, he has been in a relationship with singer Lily Allen, making their public debut at the 26th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards. They married in Las Vegas on September 7, 2020, in a ceremony officiated by an Elvis impersonator. The couple shared a Brownstone in Brooklyn, working with architect Ben Bischoff. In December 2024, reports emerged of a separation between Allen and Harbour, following the alleged sighting of Allen's dating profile on the app Raya. Allen later confirmed their separation in October 2025, coinciding with the release of her album *West End Girl*, which she revealed was partly inspired by their relationship and Harbour's struggles with implied sex addiction and alleged infidelity.
In a July 2021 interview with The Guardian, Harbour expressed his socialist views, stating, "I don't know that there's anyone who could disagree with socialist ideology." He elaborated, "The idea of a kindergarten-type society where we share things is my ideal society—as opposed to this world where we're hunting and killing and destroying for our own personal hoarding, our own personal greed."
Harbour has openly spoken about his past struggles with alcoholism, achieving sobriety at the age of 24 after hitting a profound low point that included homelessness, loneliness, and suicidal thoughts. His drinking began in his teenage years and escalated during college. He made the decision to stop after experiencing intense loneliness and a desire for a new life direction, remarking, "I enjoy consciousness too much now" to return to drinking. At 26, Harbour was diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
He finds enjoyment in watching Let's Plays and speedruns of classic video games. Harbour is also a devoted fan of the NHL's New York Rangers and was once a believer in the paranormal.
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David Kenneth Harbour (born April 10, 1975) is an American actor. He gained global recognition for his portrayal of Jim Hopper in the Netflix science fiction series Stranger Things (2016–present), for which he received two nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. His starring film roles include the title character in Hellboy (2019), Santa Claus in Violent Night (2022) and a former racer in the sports film Gran Turismo (2023). Harbour has played Red Guardian in the Marvel Cinematic Universe media franchise, beginning with the film Black Widow (2021), Thunderbolts* (2025) and in the upcoming movie Avengers: Doomsday (2026). Harbour has also joined the DC Universe as Eric Frankenstein, beginning with the television series Creature Commandos.
== Early life ==
Harbour was born in White Plains, New York, to Kenneth and Nancy (née Riley) Harbour, both of whom work in real estate—his mother in residential and his father in commercial. He attended Byram Hills High School in Armonk, New York, along with actors Sean Maher and Eyal Podell. He graduated from Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, in 1997, where he majored in drama and Italian and was a member of the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity.
As a young man in New York City, David Harbour frequented and participated in gambling at underground poker clubs, and attests that he personally knew the gangster who John Malkovich's character "Teddy KGB" was based on in the 1998 film Rounders.
== Career ==
=== Early years (1990s to 2013) ===
From 1994 to 1997, Harbour performed with The Theater at Monmouth at Cumston Hall in Monmouth, Maine, where he acted in Shakespearian productions such as The Tempest, Much Ado About Nothing, The Winter's Tale, and Hamlet. Harbour began acting professionally on Broadway in 1999, in the revival of The Rainmaker. He made his television debut that year on the television show Law & Order, playing a waiter. He appeared again in 2002 in an episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, playing a child murderer. He had the recurring role of MI6 agent Roger Anderson in the ABC series Pan Am. In 2005, he was nominated for a Tony Award for his performance as Nick in the revival of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?.
Harbour is also known for his role as CIA Agent Gregg Beam in Quantum of Solace, as Shep Campbell in Revolutionary Road, and as Russell Crowe's source in State of Play. He also received praise for his role as spree killer Paul Devildis in a 2009 episode of Law & Order: Criminal Intent. His other film credits include Brokeback Mountain, The Green Hornet, End of Watch, and Between Us. In 2013, he had a small role of a head doctor in the television series Elementary. From 2012 to 2014, he also had the recurring role of Elliot Hirsch in The Newsroom.
=== Breakthrough and success with Stranger Things (2014–present) ===
In 2014, Harbour played the recurring character of Dr. Reed Akley in the first season of the historical drama series Manhattan. In 2015, he was cast as Chief Jim Hopper in the Netflix science fiction horror series Stranger Things. For that role, he has received nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (2017 and 2018) and the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film (2018). He won a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series (2017) along with the rest of the cast.
Harbour starred as the title character in the superhero reboot film Hellboy (2019). He most recently portrayed Alexei Shostakov / Red Guardian in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) film Black Widow (2021), and reprised the role in Thunderbolts* (2025). He also had starring roles in Christmas action comedy film Violent Night (2022), and in the Neill Blomkamp sports film Gran Turismo (2023) based on the PlayStation video game series of the same name.
== Personal life ==
Harbour had relationships with Alison Sudol and Julia Stiles. Starting in 2019, he was in a relationship with singer Lily Allen. They made their red carpet debut during the 26th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards. They married on September 7, 2020, in Las Vegas in a wedding officiated by an Elvis impersonator. The couple shared a Brownstone house in Brooklyn and worked with the architect Ben Bischoff. In December 2024, newspapers alleged that Allen and Harbour had separated, after Allen's dating profile was reportedly spotted on the exclusive dating app Raya. Allen confirmed their separation in October 2025 after the release of her studio album West End Girl, which she stated was partially based on her relationship with Harbour and the latter’s implied sex addiction and alleged infidelity.
In an interview with The Guardian on his role in Black Widow in July 2021, Harbour said he was a socialist: "I don't know that there's anyone who could disagree with socialist ideology"; and later, "The idea of a kindergarten-type society where we share things is my ideal society—as opposed to this world where we're hunting and killing and destroying for our own personal hoarding, our own personal greed."
Harbour struggled with alcoholism in his past and has been sober since he was 24, after hitting "rock bottom" as he faced homelessness, loneliness and thoughts of suicide. He began drinking as a teenager and the habit worsened during college. He decided to stop drinking after feeling "very lonely and needing a different direction in my life", and has said, "I enjoy consciousness too much now" to drink again. At age 26, Harbour was diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
Harbour enjoys watching Let's Plays and speedruns of old videogames. Harbour is a fan of the NHL's New York Rangers. He is a former believer in the paranormal.
== Acting credits ==
=== Film ===
=== Television ===
=== Theatre ===
=== Video games ===
== Awards and nominations ==
== References ==
== External links ==
David Harbour at IMDb
David Harbour at the Internet Broadway Database
David Harbour at the Internet Off-Broadway Database (archived)
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