David Harbour has finally opened up about his mental health. The actor has been suffering from bipolar disorder for decades. Last year, he made news for not attending the Stranger Things finale event amid reports of erratic behavior. Now, Harbour has discussed his mental health struggles in detail, revealing that he suffered a “breakdown.”
David Harbour reflects on the difficult period he faced last year
In his interview with Variety, David Harbour talked about a stressful period of his life. “I had a breakdown,” the Stranger Things star said. He continued, “I do suffer from some confusing stuff — it’s confusing as hell.” Harbour shared that “a lot of people have a friend or a brother or a co-worker that deals with mental health stuff.” The 51-year-old further explained that those people probably get “confused when that person gets depressed or gets manic or has an episode.”
Harbour stated that he empathizes with fans who don’t know what’s going on with him and wishes he could understand it himself. However, he is tired of the way mental health is discussed publicly. “There’s a lot of irresponsible nonsense going on out there,” he said.
The actor also gave an example of disability-awareness campaigner John Davidson. Davidson ended up interrupting the BAFTAs 2026 by yelling racial slurs. “That poor guy with Tourette’s and that unfortunate situation — we’re either going to acknowledge that mental illness is a thing or we’re not,” Harbour said.
The award-winning actor continued, “Under times of extreme stress, that can cause somewhat erratic behavior, and it’s embarrassing, and I’m ashamed of it.” He explained that it is not something he chooses, and he wouldn’t wish it even on his enemy.
“I do feel like, for some of us, our gifts are inextricably linked with our illnesses,” Harbour added. He continued, “To have a nervous system that reacts to the world in a too-delicate way can allow me to have that moment that I love on the swings with Jason.” However, the actor also shared that it can force him “in moments of extreme stress, to act a little weird.”
Originally reported by Ritika Singh on Mandatory.
