NEED TO KNOW

  • David Harbour reveals that he tried dating “normal people” in his 20s, but they didn’t understand his life as an actor

  • “There’s something about being a carny freak that normal people don’t get,” the Stranger Things said

  • Harbour split from singer Lily Allen in February after four years of marriage

David Harbour is looking back at his dating history.

During a conversation with Scarlett Johansson for Interview Magazine, the Stranger Things star, 50, revealed why he found it difficult to date “normal people” in his 20s.

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When asked by Johansson, 40, if dates “actors most of the time,” Harbour brought up a recent episode of the Apple TV+ series, The Studio.

“They just did an episode where Seth Rogen is the head of a studio and he’s dating an oncologist,” he explained. “They go to an event together, and she’s like, ‘Oh my God, it’s so sweet what you do with movies.’ He’s like, ‘Hey, you cure cancer. But once the cancer’s cured, people go to the movies and find meaning.’ The other doctors start making fun of him, and he kind of loses it.”

The Thunderbolts* star added, “There’s something about that ideology with normal people.”

Harbour dove into his own experience with dating people who weren’t in the entertainment industry. 

The actor reflected on why finding common ground with people in other industries can be difficult.

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“I tried to date lawyers and business people in my twenties,” he admitted. “But there’s something about being a carny freak that normal people don’t get.”

Harbour’s comments come after multiple sources confirmed to PEOPLE in February that he and Lily Allen separated after four years of marriage.

“Her marriage has been crumbling,” an insider said at the time, “and they have split.”

Karwai Tang/WireImage

David Harbour attends the “Thunderbolts” UK Special Screening at Cineworld Leicester Square on April 22, 2025 in London, England.

Before the split news, Allen revealed that she was going through a difficult time on the Jan. 9 episode of her BBC podcast Miss Me? with co-host Miquita Oliver.

“I’m just so … I’m really not in a good place,” she explained. “I know I’ve been talking about it for months, but I’ve been spiraling and spiraling and spiraling, and it’s got out of control.”

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The “Hard Out Here” musician added, “I just can’t concentrate on anything except the pain that I’m going through.”

“It’s really, really hard,” added Allen, who at the time revealed she would be taking a bit of a break from the podcast: “I’m going away next week. You’re not gonna hear me for a few weeks, listeners.”

Insiders told PEOPLE that the “Smile” singer struggled in the aftermath of her breakup from Harbour.

“She’s devastated and not in a good place,” an insider told PEOPLE of the English pop star in February.

Sean Zanni/WireImage From left: Lily Allen and David Harbour attend the CHANEL Tribeca Festival Artists Dinner at The Odeon on June 10, 2024 in New York City.

Sean Zanni/WireImage

From left: Lily Allen and David Harbour attend the CHANEL Tribeca Festival Artists Dinner at The Odeon on June 10, 2024 in New York City.

The English pop star — who married Harbour in September 2020 — shares daughters Marnie Rose, 12, and Ethel Mary, 13, with ex-husband Sam Cooper, and the source shared the split from Harbour has “been very hard for her and her girls.”

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“It’s been a bad start to the new year, but Lily is tough,” the insider added. “She’s very good at prioritizing herself when she has to.”

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The pair were first romantically linked in January 2019 and made their red carpet debut in October of the same year. They sparked engagement rumors one month later and subsequently tied the knot in a Las Vegas ceremony in September 2020.

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