Stranger Things’ David Harbour on ‘special relationship’ with Lily Allen’s children: ‘I’ve learned a lot about myself’-Naomi Gordon-Entertainment – Metro

David Harbour said being a stepdad to Lily Allen’s kids is ‘hardest thing’ he’s ever done (Picture: Getty)

Stranger Things star David Harbour has described being a stepfather to wife Lily Allen’s children as the ‘hardest thing’ he’s ever done.

The 47-year-old actor opened up about his ‘special relationship’ with the two young girls, Ethel, 10, and Marnie, nine, from Lily’s relationship with her ex-husband Sam Cooper.

‘I’ve learned a lot about myself. You really have to show up for other human beings in a truly selfless way,’ he said. ‘I was, like, “Whoa, this is the hardest thing I’ve ever had to deal with.”

‘The relationship I have with them now is really, really special. But, you know, it takes time and effort.’

David and Lily married in a low-key ceremony in Las Vegas in 2020, after they began dating the year earlier, with an Elvis impersonator officiating the ceremony, which was attended by Ethel and Marnie.

On whether he uses his parental instinct to help guide his young co-stars in Netflix’s Stranger Things, he replied: ‘Not really. I mean, I try my best. And there have been times when I’ve been more overly protective and times when I’ve been less.

Lily Allen and David Harbour and Lily’s daughters Ethel and Marnie attended Netflix’s Stranger Things season four premiere in New York (Picture: Getty)

Lily and David cuddled Ethel and Marnie at the Stranger Things premiere
(Picture: Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

‘The best thing I can offer them is that I started this show when they were all kids. And I can still treat them like idiot kids.’

He added to The Times: ‘The world can’t, the world treats them like superstars. So I just try to love them and you know, let go and kind of treat them like idiots because no one else does.’

Lily and David married in 2020 (Picture: ANGELA WEISS / AFP)

David recently opened up about his experiences with mental illness which left him ‘in an institution’ during his most difficult period.

The 47-year-old star was diagnosed with bipolar disorder at the age of 26 ‘after an episode that landed me in an institution’, which he believes can be a common side effect of living in poverty. 

‘What defines crazy is social inappropriateness. But it’s very socially inappropriate, in a sense, to not have enough money to live on.’

He added to the Big Issue magazine: ‘Being mentally ill is a natural condition of poverty. When you can’t participate in society by going out buying lunch and go into a store and stuff, it’ll make you crazy. It’s chicken and egg. They go hand in hand.’

David has reprised his role as Jim Hopper for part one of the fourth and final series of the hit sci-fi drama, available to stream now on Netflix. The Harbour/Allen family recently attended the season four premiere together.

Stranger Things is available on Netflix.

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