THE STRANGEST THING

Last January, as protesters stormed airports around the country to rally against the White House–issued travel ban, David Harbour delivered an impassioned speech during the SAG Awards in Los Angeles. The cast of the sleeper Netflix hit Stranger Things was onstage accepting the award for outstanding performance by an ensemble in a drama series. It was just days after the ban took effect, and Harbour felt that attending an awards show was kind of frivolous, all things considered. After costar Winona Ryder handed him the bulky statue, Harbour, who plays troubled smalltown police chief Jim Hopper in the show, took the mic.

“In light of all that’s going on in the world” Harbour said, his voice forceful. “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…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. We are united in that we are all human beings and we are all together on this horrible, painful, joyous, exciting, and mysterious ride that is being alive.”