David Kenneth Harbour (born April 10, 1975) is an American actor, renowned for his portrayal of the lead character Chief Jim Hopper in the Netflix original television series, Stranger Things.
Early Life[]
Harbour was born in New York, U.S. and graduated from Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire in the year of 1997.
Career[]
Harbour began performing in film, theater and television since 1999. Harbour's most notable performances are in War of the Worlds (2005), Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (2005) and Stranger Things (2016). He also portrayed the titular character in Hellboy (2019).
Harbour's only award nomination as of August 13th, 2016 was a 2005 Tony Award for a Best Featured Actor in a Play for the play Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? However, with the release of Stranger Things, Harbour's reputation rose deliberately as he was recognized for many awards and nominations, including two Emmy nominations for his acclaimed portrayal of Jim Hopper in the TV horror show.
Filmography[]
Film[]
| Year | Film | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Kinsey | Robert Kinsey |
| 2005 | Confess | FBI Agent McAllister |
| Brokeback Mountain | Randall Malone | |
| War of the Worlds | Dock Worker | |
| 2006 | The Wedding Weekend | David |
| 2007 | Awake | Count Dracula |
| 2008 | Revolutionary Road | Shep Cambell |
| Quantum of Solace | Gregg Beam | |
| 2009 | State of Play | PointCorp Insider |
| 2010 | Every Day | Brian |
| 2011 | The Green Hornet | D.A. Frank Scanlon |
| W.E. | Ernest Simpson | |
| 2012 | End of Watch | Van Hauser |
| Between Us | Joel | |
| 2013 | Snitch | Jay Price |
| Parkland | James Gordon Shanklin | |
| 2014 | X/Y | Todd |
| A Walk Among the Tombstones | Ray | |
| The Equalizer | Frank Masters | |
| 2015 | Black Mass | John Morris |
| 2016 | Suicide Squad | Dexter Tolliver |
| 2017 | Sleepless | Doug Dennison |
| 2019 | Frankenstein's Monster's Monster, Frankenstein | David Harbour III, David Harbour Jr., Frankenstein |
| Hellboy | Hellboy | |
| 2020 | Extraction | Gaspar |
| 2021 | Black Widow | Red Guardian/ Alexei Shostakov |
| No Sudden Move | Matt Wertz | |
| 2022 | Violent Night | Santa Claus |
| 2023 | We Have a Ghost | Ernest the Ghost |
| Gran Turismo | Jack Salter | |
| 2025 | Levon's Trade | TBA |
| Thunderbolts | Alexei Shostakov / Red Guardian |
Television[]
| Title | Role | |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Law & Order | Waiter |
| 2002 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Terry Jessup |
| 2003 | Hack | Christopher Clark |
| 2004 | Law & Order: Criminal Intent | Wesley John Kenderson |
| 2006 | The Book of Daniel | Kevin Warwick |
| 2008 | Law & Order | Jay Carlin |
| 2009 | Law & Order: Criminal Intent | Paul Devildis |
| 2011 | Pan Am | Roger Anderson |
| 2012–2014 | The Newsroom | Elliott Hirsch |
| 2013 | Elementary | Dr. Mason Baldwin |
| 2014 | Rake | David Potter |
| Manhattan | Dr. Reed Akley | |
| 2014–2015 | State of Affairs | David Patrick |
| 2015 | Banshee | Robert Dalton |
| 2016- | Stranger Things | Chief Jim Hopper |
| 2018 | Drunk History | Vietnam Memorial Head |
| Animals | Hawk (voice) | |
| 2019 | Saturday Night Live | Himself (host) |
| 2020 | The Simpsons | Fred Kranepool (voice) |
| 2021 | Big City Greens | Rick (voice) |
| Q-Force | Agent Rick Buck (voice) | |
| Star Wars: Visions | Tajin (voice) | |
| 2024 | Creature Commandos | Eric Frankenstein |
| TBA | What If…? | Alexei Shostakov/Red Guardian (voice) |
| My Dentist’s Murder Trial | TBA |
Theater[]
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | The Rainmaker | Noah Curry |
| 2000 | Stranger | Steward / Frank / Pato |
| 2001 | The Invention of Love | Moses John Jackson |
| 2002 | Twelfth Night | Antonio |
| 2003 | Fifth of July | Moses John Jackson |
| A Bad Friend | Fallon | |
| The Two Noble Kinsmen | Arcite | |
| 2004 | Between Us | Joel |
| 2005 | Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? | Nick |
| 2006–2007 | The Coast of Utopia: Part 1 – Voyage | Nicholas Stankevich |
| The Coast of Utopia: Part 2 – Shipwreck | George Herwegh | |
| The Coast of Utopia: Part 3 – Salvage | Doctor at the Seashore | |
| 2008 | Hamlet | Laertes/Ghost of Hamlet’s Father |
| 2009 | Time Stand Stills | James Dodd |
| 2010–2011 | The Merchant of Venice | Bassanio |
| 2012–2013 | Glengarry Glen Ross | John Williamson |
| 2016 | Cal in Camo | Tim |
| 2022 | Mad House | Michael |
Awards & Nominations[]
| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Tony Awards | Best Featured Actor in a Play | Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? | Nominated |
| 2017 | Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series | Stranger Things | Won |
| Fangoria Chainsaw Award | Best TV Supporting Actor | Nominated | ||
| Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series | Nominated | ||
| 2018 | Critics' Choice Television Awards | Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series | Won | |
| Golden Globe Awards | Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film | Nominated | ||
| Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series | Nominated | ||
| Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series | Nominated | |||
| Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series | Nominated | ||
| 2020 | Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series | Nominated | |
| Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series | Nominated | |||
| Golden Raspberry Awards | Worst Actor | Hellboy | Nominated |
Official Account[]
Gallery[]
Stranger Things Rewatch Behind the Scenes David Harbour on Working With Kids Netflix
Stranger Things Spotlight David Harbour Netflix
Winona Ryder & David Harbour Stranger Things 3 Premiere Netflix
Trivia[]
- David Harbour was the officiant at a fan's wedding, appearing dressed as his character Jim Hopper from the show.[1]
- Harbour revealed that the dog portraying Chester was one of the worst "actors" to work with, even making him storm off set on one occasion.[2]
- He was really into Dungeons & Dragons when he was a kid.
- He grew up in White Plains, Westchester County, New York.
- He can speak Italian.
- Michael Jackson once appeared in a dream of his, MJ knocked on his door and he asked to teach him dancing.
- As a young man he delivered pizzas to get money.
- He had a mental break when he was 25 years old and subsequently, was institutionalized by his parents.
- He has Bipolar Disorder.