David Harbour Bares His Soul—and Belly—to Scarlett Johansson

It’s not easy saving the world—or playing a character who tries to. Just ask David Harbour, who’s made a name for himself as a gruff but good cop in Stranger Things, and more recently as a washed-up superhero in Thunderbolts*. Those roles take stamina, and if you’ve been doing it as long as he has, playing a normal middle-aged man with normal middle-aged problems is a relief. That was one of the many things on Harbour’s mind while shooting his new HBO series DTF St. Louis. The only problem, he tells his former Marvel costar Scarlett Johansson over Zoom, is that this normal, middle-aged man comes with a 40-pound belly.

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FRIDAY 2 PM MAY 2, 2025 ATLANTA

SCARLETT JOHANSSON: Hello. Am I in the right place?

DAVID HARBOUR: Holy shit. What’s up? 

JOHANSSON: You’re in a trailer. I know that disgusting, dusty old vent.

HARBOUR: I’m here to put on my prosthetic belly, which I’ll show if you’d like. Check this out. JOHANSSON: Ew. That’s gross. 

HARBOUR: What do you mean it’s gross? It’s gorgeous. 

JOHANSSON: I don’t like that. 

HARBOUR: It’s a Sports Illustrated bikini model shoot.

JOHANSSON: I don’t like the hair. 

HARBOUR: Nobody likes the hair. It’s very well done, though. It’s very graphic.

JOHANSSON: Show me again. 

HARBOUR: [Laughs] You’re like a girl with a spider: “Oh, it’s gross. Let me see it again.” Look at that belly button, too.

JOHANSSON: Is that modeled off of you?

HARBOUR: Yeah, but it’s an extra 40 pounds.

JOHANSSON: That’s your extra weight sitting next to you?

HARBOUR: Yeah. I’m doing this thing for HBO, DTF St. Louis, and my character is a large man who’s very self-conscious about how large he is. They were like, “Let’s have you start eating peanut butter.” I was like, “No, thank you. Let’s have you go into the prosthetic shop.” These brilliant gentlemen behind me have created this thing that moves with my body. It’s really quite extraordinary what they can do nowadays.

JOHANSSON: So basically, what you’re saying is that you wouldn’t commit to the role?

HARBOUR: [Laughs] No, I’m just so ripped right now, Scarlett.

JOHANSSON: Is the prosthetic like a veneer, where it just sticks to the ab wall?

HARBOUR: Basically. I love that the interview we’re supposed to be doing is going to be completely about my abs.

JOHANSSON: I can’t wait to see the headline.

HARBOUR: [Laughs]

JOHANSSON: “Rock Hard for Harbour.” [Laughs] I’m such a professional.

HARBOUR: Wait, it’s kind of an amazing day to be doing this.

JOHANSSON: Yeah. I was just reading that you guys had a pretty successful preview sale, which is good.

HARBOUR: I’m trying to stay away from all that garbage, but yes.

JOHANSSON: It’s not garbage, David. This is the business of the business.

HARBOUR: [Laughs] I agree. It’s just stress.

JOHANSSON: Do you have to lie down like that because of the application process?

HARBOUR: No, just because it’s a nice view of my chin. Yes, because of the application process.

JOHANSSON: So you’re going to do the entire interview like this?

HARBOUR: Yes.

JOHANSSON: Alright. Wait, so today is the release day?

HARBOUR: Yes. It’s the opening day of a movie that basically you are the seventh Thunderbolt in. Your character is all over this movie. Have you seen it?

JOHANSSON: No.

HARBOUR: Okay. You are an executive producer on it. Congratulations. 

JOHANSSON: I asked to have my credit removed because I wasn’t involved.

HARBOUR: You hated the movie that much? [Laughs]

JOHANSSON: No, you’re just wanting that to be the case.

HARBOUR: I think you’d be proud of us.

JOHANSSON: I am proud of you. Did you shoot most of it in Atlanta?

 HARBOUR: Almost all of it. We built a New York street on this great stage with all these shipping containers. Oh, and we went to Utah for two weeks. There’s a great scene in a limousine in the desert. Usually, those things are done on a stage, but we did it practically. They pulled a limo of four of us, hot, no air conditioning, driving. 

JOHANSSON: What was the point of that?

HARBOUR: Because Jake [Schreier] is a real indie filmmaker and loves to make movies like we used to make movies.

JOHANSSON: What does that mean to you?

HARBOUR: It means that we used to be bands of carnies who would go around the world in trailers and make movies on location. And as studios start penny-pinching, we try to do things cheaper with CGI and stuff like that. But back in the day, you’d have to pull a car. He wants the whole experience of moviemaking to filter through us. I was annoyed when we were doing it, but as the days went on I was actually really grateful. I was like, “This is what I love about making movies”—being stuck in this car in the desert with a bunch of my buddies. It’s rare you get to do that anymore.

JOHANSSON: Is it because you’ve been working on a lot of bigger projects? Like you shot Stranger Things in Atlanta—I’m sure it’s a lot of big sets and everything, and then you’ve been in the Marvel world for a while, too.

HARBOUR: Yes.

JOHANSSON: But you did that film with Soderbergh [2021’s No Sudden Move]. You’ve balanced it pretty well, the indie movies that you’re talking about and the bigger ones—although I guess you’ve been kind of back to back on these big genre pieces.

HARBOUR: Yeah. That’s been my life for the past couple years. This thing I’m working on for HBO feels much more grounded. It’s just a middle-aged guy going through middle-aged problems, as opposed to a character that has to kill a monster or save the world. So I do go back and forth, but I’ve been on the superhero, big budget-y green screen stages a lot.

JOHANSSON: But you’ve completed Stranger Things. Is that a relief?

HARBOUR: When I started I loved it so much. Buddies of mine who’d done TV shows for many years said, “By season three or four you’ll be running.” And I was like, “Never! I love all these guys so much.” And then you get to a certain point where you’re like, “How much more story is there?” You’re having to play a lot of the same beat, and there’s a feeling where you’re like, “I want to take a risk. I want to do something that people haven’t seen me do before.” So yeah, after 10 years, it’s like, “Okay.”

JOHANSSON: That’s a long time. For a period, you were doing Marvel also. When you have those big time commitments, sometimes it’s harder to find the special moments day to day.

HARBOUR: You did the Marvel thing for 10 years, right?

JOHANSSON: Yeah. Some of the films that I did for Marvel engaged my character more than others. Like in [Captain America: The] Winter Soldier with Chris [Evans], we were really dynamic. In some of the other films, the cast was so enormous and there was so much plot to serve that you start to feel like you’re a device to move it along. And if you’re committed to five and a half months of that, it’s like, “Okay. I can’t paint my nails, I can’t get a haircut.” These sound like silly problems, but your identity is wrapped up in this job for a long time, and if you’re not doing engaging work as an actor, you feel a little cagey sometimes.

HARBOUR: It’s the same thing with this show. There’d be certain seasons where you feel like, “I’m going to go in this different direction.” But as you say, a piece of your psyche is occupied with this group of people and this storyline. I don’t paint my nails, but I get that idea of “I can’t get a haircut” or “I can’t shave this freaking mustache.” [Laughs]

JOHANSSON: You’re in it, and you’re committed to returning to this character whenever they need you. When you’re working, what do you do on your off days?

HARBOUR: It depends on the project. I was lucky last year because I shot Stranger Things and Thunderbolts* in tandem, and that busyness allowed me a certain—I go a little stir-crazy when I’m on my own. I have a little place down here in Atlanta with a garden and I started growing tomatoes and strawberries and shit. I’m like a grandpa out there picking blueberries.

JOHANSSON: Nice.

HARBOUR: It really is. I have all this crazy wildlife in my backyard. There’s a hawk that sits on top of my roof and eats chipmunks; there’s intestines in his mouth all the time. And I’ve started to make friends with some of the neighborhood people. It’s really hippie down here. There’s a lot of the burnout free thinkers I found in the East Village when I moved there in the ’90s. New York has become more—I don’t know what the word is.

JOHANSSON: Maybe not as driven? 

HARBOUR: Yes. I don’t mind driven people, but there’s something about this branding ideology I find in young people in Manhattan which is different from when I was there. We were going to Barnes and Noble and reading philosophy and hanging out at coffee shops. 

JOHANSSON: Do you think that’s because of social media and our phones and stuff?

HARBOUR: For sure. I feel like the phone is the game changer for everything. It’s like the wheel. It created an entirely new civilization.

JOHANSSON: Do you spend a lot of time on your phone?

HARBOUR: I go through phases where I get rid of it entirely and go flip phone. Have you ever gone flip phone?

JOHANSSON: No, not since I’ve had an iPhone.

HARBOUR: Having a flip phone is an amazing experience because you actually have to call people, and you don’t deal with emails until you get home.

JOHANSSON: How long does that last you?

HARBOUR: I’ve gone four or five months at a time.

JOHANSSON: What if you’re like, “Oh, I need to order this thing or email this person,” do you write those things down so you remember them later?

HARBOUR: I think it’s a product of the phone that you think you need those things. When you have the flip phone, you just forget about the thing you wanted to buy, and the things that are important rise to the surface.

JOHANSSON: So you have your flip phone, you’ve got your berries, you’ve got the wildlife, but you’re still plugged in. Like I know you’re not checking out the Friday pre-sales for Thunderbolts*, but do you connect with your fans through social media?

HARBOUR: I used to in the beginning and then—I admire what you have more than anything. You’re a true movie star where you’re not on social media. Do you like the mystery that you have?

JOHANSSON: I think it’s more about privacy. It’s a personality that you present on social media. You create a pretend version of who you want people to see, and that just seems like a lot of work.

HARBOUR: Yeah, that’s been my recent take. Early on, I was so enamored by the spotlight. I’d be like, “Come on in, let me show you my world.” And then you start to get sour on the amount of work it takes, and you’re like, “Man, I got into this business so that I could reveal aspects of myself through characters whose stories are much more interesting than mine, so why don’t I just focus on telling those stories?” Now my Instagram is literally advertisements for my projects.

JOHANSSON: Yeah, it’s a good tool for that.

HARBOUR: It’s just posters, and I guess studios care about the number of followers and things like that.

JOHANSSON: It’s another way to advertise the product.

HARBOUR: I think eventually I’ll just give it over to a publicity person and allow it to function as a facade for however people want to view me.

JOHANSSON: That would drive me nuts.

HARBOUR: I mean, it’s the same as studios putting your face on a poster. 

JOHANSSON: I think I’m just being an old fart.

HARBOUR: Join the club. 

JOHANSSON: So you’re now in old fart territory?

HARBOUR: Hell yeah. Picking blueberries in the backyard looking at birds? What the hell has happened to my life? [Laughs]

JOHANSSON: Wait, so the next Avengers is happening now, right? Because I have some friends that are headed out to shoot it. Are you announced or not? Did I just make a big—

HARBOUR: I’ve been announced. 

JOHANSSON: Okay. I haven’t lost my magic Marvel touch yet. I’m not even contracted to Marvel and I’m still fucking holding your secrets. 

HARBOUR: Oh, come on, Scarlett. We all know you’re the secret character. We all know the Black Widow comes back from the dead. 

JOHANSSON: If I come back from the dead, then half the world’s population dies. Didn’t you see Endgame for Christ’s sake? 

HARBOUR: Oh geez. [Laughs] 

JOHANSSON: Let’s skip over this so that you don’t get fired. The fans are going to be like, “He doesn’t know anything.”

HARBOUR: [Laughs]

JOHANSSON: Holy crap. Wait, does it get wet in between your skin and the prosthetic?

HARBOUR: They have it glued pretty tight. Taking it off is a real mess, though.

JOHANSSON: Since you’ve got this belly, do you just eat whatever you want?

HARBOUR: Yeah. I need to train for this thing that’s happening a little bit later this year and I started out like, “I’ll just work out every day and go right into this other project just jacked.” And of course, you’re sitting around in this prosthetic hunched over because it pulls your spine, and you’re just like, “Are there any donuts at crafty?” [Laughs] It’s like, “Fuck it, man. I’m wearing a fake belly. I’m going to eat what I want.”

JOHANSSON: Yeah, it’s like it’s wearing a fleshy caftan or something.

HARBOUR: That’s exactly right. There’s also a lot of scenes where I take my shirt off, and I have to say, it’s so liberating. It’s like mask work. I’m just like, “It’s not me, guys.”

JOHANSSON: Do we need to put that on the disclaimer when the movie comes out?

HARBOUR: I’m going to talk about it in every single interview.

JOHANSSON: I’m going to open a social media account just to support you.

HARBOUR: @davidharboursbelly? That would be great. It would really help me get the word out. [Laughs] When are you hosting SNL?

JOHANSSON: This is not about me, David.

HARBOUR: It’s going to be about my jealousy and rage that you’re hosting again and—

JOHANSSON: This is what happens when you leave. Opportunities are missed because you’re not in the city.

HARBOUR: I’m flying up, man. I’m streaking during the monologue. 

JOHANSSON: Only if you wear that phenomenal prosthetic thing. 

HARBOUR: I’ll wear the belly for sure.

JOHANSSON: Wait, you’re missing the whole season? Are you going to come to Broadway?

HARBOUR: I can’t do that play that we talked about, but I’m coming back in June, then I go do another movie, but I don’t really have anything for the fall.

JOHANSSON: Do you like to do theater?

HARBOUR: It depends. 

JOHANSSON: You love-hate it. 

HARBOUR: I love to hate it. 

JOHANSSON: Have you had a bad experience where you were stuck in a play that was terrible and you kept doing it?

HARBOUR: Of course. Literally almost every play I did in my twenties was off-Broadway. I was making $300 a week doing The Two Noble Kinsmen at the Public. Just ridiculous Shakespeare plays. People weren’t beating down my doors to put me in Marvel movies back then, so it was slim pickings, but it was definitely a love-hate relationship.

JOHANSSON: Yeah, the lifestyle is tough. I’ve never done it with kids. But I just saw Othello with Denzel [Washington] and Jake [Gyllenhaal]. I saw Good Night, and Good Luck. Do you like to go to the theater?

HARBOUR: I haven’t gone in a long time. I go through phases of being cynical about it, so I guess I’m in a cynical phase.

JOHANSSON: Do you watch a lot of movies?

HARBOUR: Yeah. That’s another thing I do down here on days off. There are these great little out-of- the-way theaters in abandoned shopping malls. I’ll just go and see two, three movies a day, just wandering back and forth between the theaters like when I was a kid.

JOHANSSON: Are you a loner, David Harbour?

HARBOUR: I’m a loner for sure. [Laughs]

JOHANSSON: Have you always been a loner?

HARBOUR: Always.

JOHANSSON: Even in high school? 

HARBOUR: Oh yes.

JOHANSSON: What were you like in high school?

HARBOUR: Oh god.

JOHANSSON: Were you in drama as a student? 

HARBOUR: Isn’t this interview supposed to be over? [Laughs] Alright, I’ll give you the two-minute version. So, I got very serious around 14. I started thinking that my way out was through intellect and philosophy and art, so I started reading constantly. I would just read Hamlet over and over again, and I felt like I was Hamlet. I would wear a black trench coat and smoke cigarettes and wander around the halls and be intense. And really, little has changed in the past 35 years. [Laughs]

JOHANSSON: When did you get into drama, though?

HARBOUR: I was a freshman in high school. I did Ten Little Indians, the Agatha Christie play. I played William Henry Blore with a British accent, played with my tie a lot, made some incredible choices.

JOHANSSON: Did you think then, “This is what I want to do with the rest of my life?”

HARBOUR: Yeah, ever since high school I wanted to be a professional actor, but I never thought I could do it. It was a Westchester thing, like, “You’re going to use your dramatic skills in the courtroom.”

JOHANSSON: Did you have other friends that were actors in high school?

HARBOUR: No. My friends in high school were all weirdos. I have a couple friends who became lawyers; they were these oddly conservative political guys I’d argue with when we were 15 years old. I also dated a girl I’m still friends with who was on the TV show Small Wonder, the actress Emily Schulman. She was my first love.

JOHANSSON: Do you date actors most of the time?

HARBOUR: Most of the time, yeah. Have you seen The Studio on Apple TV?

JOHANSSON: I’ve heard about it. HARBOUR: They just did an episode where Seth Rogen is the head of a studio and he’s dating an oncologist. 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. There’s something about that ideology with normal people. I tried to date lawyers and business people in my twenties, but there’s something about being a carny freak that normal people don’t get. You’ve dated artists pretty much, right? 

JOHANSSON: Yeah. I’ve had serious relationships with people that were not in the industry, and I found one of the challenges was that the person had no idea of what I needed to do my job. Obviously, if I was dating an oncologist, I wouldn’t know what they needed to do for their job. But it’s not so abstract. I also think it’s easy to create a lot of jealousy when a person is not involved in the industry, because actors by nature are very free-spirited and they create very intimate relationships with people at work. They can be loyal to a partner and also very engaged in all these other kinds of relationships, and I think it can be a blurry line for some people. Also, to have a relationship with the public can be a complicated thing for people outside of the industry to understand.

HARBOUR: For sure.

JOHANSSON: When I’m working, and you’re probably like this too, I’m pretty hermetic. If I’m in a town, I like to go to the little restaurant and movie theater, but I don’t like a lot of variation. I like things to be, I don’t want to say rigorous, but you want a routine.

HARBOUR: That’s so interesting that you have that thing, too. I wondered if it’s sort of an OCD thing, but when I do a play, I have a very rigid routine—what I eat, what I wear, how I walk to the theater to focus my mind. Even when I’m working on film, I prefer routine; it’s all based on keeping myself within a world.

JOHANSSON: And in a headspace where you have plenty of room, so you’re not too distracted by newness.

HARBOUR: Yes. There’s a certain way that we sort of put our lives on hold for a character. This may sound crazy, but when I’m in a complex scene with someone that’s going extremely well, I feel like I’m living in a deeper way than I am in normal life. And sometimes, if that’s going to be the focus of my day, I’m not going to want to waste life outside of that.

JOHANSSON: Yeah, I have that too. 

HARBOUR: Weirdos. Both of us. [Laughs]

JOHANSSON: How are your breasts and your stomach coming along, by the way? Oh my gosh, it looks so real.

HARBOUR: I mean, just six donuts a day.

JOHANSSON: Is that your vice? 

HARBOUR: Goddamn, I do love a donut. If I could do donuts with impunity, I might give up everything else.

JOHANSSON: Alright. I’m going to leave you because I know you don’t want to be stuck on the phone with me forever, but I want to see you whenever you come here.

HARBOUR: Yeah, I miss you. 

JOHANSSON: I miss you too. 

HARBOUR: You seem good. 

JOHANSSON: I’m fine. The world’s just fucking crazy.

HARBOUR: I know. But you look great.

JOHANSSON: And you’ve got to do the butt piece now, which I don’t want to stay on the phone to see. 

HARBOUR: [Laughs] Alright. I love you.

JOHANSSON: I love you. Say hi to everybody. 

HARBOUR: I will. Bye.

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Grooming: Jillian Halouska using Sisley Paris at The Wall Group. 

Tailor: Sophie Stonyer at Karen Avenell. 

Fashion Assistant: Lizzie Ash. 

Production: Thea Charlesworth at Thearcade. 

Production Management: Jeremy Rwakasiisi. 

Production Assistant: Kate Rosewell. 

Post-Production: Khrystyna Chekhlata. 

Special Thanks: Corinthia London Hotel.