David Harbour Reveals Stranger Things 'Changed Him,' Says 'It Ripped Apart The Whole Conception'

Families

and friends will assemble for one last adventure in Stranger Things 5, along with a few new faces — including Linda Hamilton as the mysterious Dr. Kay. The final season launches on Netflix on November 26 with the first four episodes, followed by three episodes arriving on Christmas and the finale on New Year's Eve. Fans are super excited for the final season and ahead of the big release, actor David Harbour revealed how the show changed him.

David Harbour On Stranger Things

Talking to Variety, the actor shared how Stranger Things impacted his life, he said, "A lot of people know me now, and it gave me a fan base of a certain type. So, career-wise, it just opened a tremendous amount of doors. I mean, I’m interested now in what happens after Stranger Things, in terms of walking through those doors. I have this new HBO show coming out in January, me and Jason Bateman, and all this other stuff in the pipe now, so that’s more where my focus is on right now." "Whereas, had you asked me that question seven years ago? It just ripped apart the whole conception of what I would be. I got to a certain point in my life when I was 35 — I really enjoyed being number seven on a call sheet of, like, a Denzel Washington action movie, and also being leads in plays at the Public Theater in New York. It was a lovely life, a fantastic life, a one-bedroom-rental-in-the-East-Village life, and Stranger Things changed that entire life in many ways.""The one thing that it hasn’t changed is my intent, and I think my intent has always been to tell beautiful, weird stories that open people up. That’s been the same pre-Stranger Things and after Stranger Things, but everything else has changed," he concluded.

More About Stranger Things 5

In Stranger Things, Harbour plays the role of Hawkins, Indiana, police chief Jim Hopper — the only adult male lead (opposite Winona Ryder’s Joyce Byers) on a show populated almost entirely with young people. Co-created by the Duffer brothers, Ross and Matt, the final season sees everyone in Hawkins, Indiana, get together to fight Vecna and destroy the Upside Down once and for all. Additionally, the Duffers have teased that the story will reveal why Will Byers (Noah Schnapp) was taken by Vecna in the first season. The first four episodes to premiere on Netflix on November 26, 2025, at 5 pm PT. It will air in India on November 27 at 6:30 am.