As Chief Jim Hopper, David Harbour leads the pack of Stranger Things. And at the SAG Awards, he delivered a masterful speech about standing up for others.
The Stranger Things cast had a really great weekend. They won the SAG Award for Best Ensemble Cast in a Drama Series. With it, they lit the internet on fire once again with an acceptance speech from David Harbour. If you watched the moment live, two things were super apparent: Winona Ryder had no idea he was going to do that, and David Harbour was a little caught off guard himself. His hands were shaking and he basically had to shout to get through it.
It was nothing short of amazing.
If you missed it, you can watch below:
On the heels of this, Harbour spoke with Vanity Fair about how proud of Stranger Things he is:
"“I think that a lot has been made about my speech, and I want people to really understand how proud I am of the show—and of the work of the other cast members and the artists who are involved. And whatever you think politically, watch the show. I think you’ll be moved.”"
Of course, we all know how Stranger Things became an instant hit overnight. Yet, Harbour wasn’t expecting to win, let alone make a speech. And though it looks like he wrote it on a napkin, he started working on it more than a week ago. (So that’s probably a piece of paper.) Additionally, he re-wrote the speech several times.
Initially, he wanted to spotlight the female cast. But then, the speech evolved into a call to arms with the final product sounding more like:
"“But this award, from you — who take your craft seriously and earnestly believe, like me, that great acting can change the world — is a call to arms from our fellow craftsmen and women to go deeper. And through our art to battle against fear, self-centeredness and exclusivity of our predominantly narcissistic culture and through our craft, to cultivate a more empathetic and understanding society by revealing intimate truths that serve as a forceful reminder to folks that when they feel broken and afraid and tired, they are not alone.”"
Following Trump’s Muslim ban and the overall state of affairs, Harbour’s speech — like many moments that night — drew a lot of praise for it’s bold political statement. Though, Harbour considers it to be less about politics — “It’s funny that everyone’s taking the speech to be political, because I think everything we do is political. I don’t think there’s any separation. And obviously, I’m responding to the times I’m in, but the speech itself doesn’t really mention politics or policy in any way” — and more about inclusion: “my attempt to make people feel not alone,” or as ” ‘freaks’ on any side of any aisle in any way. If you are misunderstood, I want you to know that I feel the same way.”
Speaking of misunderstanding, I bet you’re wondering about Winona Ryder’s expressions the whole time. David Harbour added:
"“I’ll connect with her this week once we get back on set together, and we’ll joke about it. But I just love her so much. Her face is just so expressive. What an amazing quality. And it’s just so fun to have people—to have this kind of fiery speech, and then to have people also appreciate the silliness and the joy of just like a totally wonderful, sensitive, expressive actress. I love it.”"
Winona forever, right?
More importantly, Harbour’s fired up about Stranger Things Season 2. “I got the first script of season two, and the first five minutes I was on my feet going, ‘Yes! Yes!’ Because they open up the world in such a new way,” he said.
Related Story: Watch Millie Bobby Brown (and the Stranger Things Cast) React to SAG Win
Opening up the world in Stranger Things could mean they travel to another, another dimension. So, we shall see when Stranger Things returns this summer.