David Harbour says Lily Allen’s West End Girl fallout sparked a “frightening mental health emergency”
David Harbour (Image: Getty)
David Harbour has said the public fallout after ex-wife Lily Allen released her album West End Girl triggered a “frightening mental health emergency”, as he returns to the spotlight with HBO’s DTF St. Louis. The 51-year-old spoke in a new Variety interview, published on 10 June.
Harbour plays ASL interpreter Floyd Smernitch in DTF St. Louis. The series was a ratings success when it aired in spring 2026 and has put him in contention for his first Emmy, after two Stranger Things nominations.
Discussing his transformation for the role, Harbour said the production designed a prosthetic belly so he could look “Midwestern-dad pudgy”. “I guess it’s just part of my process,” he said. “I don’t think I could have danced as fun and as free as I did without that belly.”
He also connected the character to wider themes. “It’s a little bit about the landscape of America,” Harbour said. “I’m always thinking of the archetype of the American man and the American dream.”
West End Girl and the mental health crisis
Speaking about the release of Allen’s album, Harbour said, “It was weird. I do believe that it is the privilege of every artist to use their experience to create art, and so I respect her for doing that. I can’t really say that much more because it’s my private life. In spite of the fact that a lot of people don’t allow me a private life — I value it. And I also value the lives of the people that I interact with privately. I just won’t speak about that. Stories are complex and that’s why I say I respect her creation of art to channel her experience. It wasn’t my experience.”
Harbour has long been open about his struggles with bipolar disorder. In October 2025, a month before Stranger Things started airing its final season, Allen released West End Girl, and Harbour said the moment coincided with a “frightening mental health emergency”.
The pair married in 2020 in Las Vegas. Their public profile was amplified by a 2023 Architectural Digest tour of their Brooklyn townhouse, a video that has more than 9 million views.
Allen has described the album as using “artistic license”, adding: “I don’t think I could say it’s all true,” in comments referenced in the interview.
DTF St. Louis and leaving Stranger Things
Harbour said he felt ready to move on by the time Stranger Things ended. “At a certain point,” he said, “you kind of run out of story. We had gone as far with these characters as we could, and we were starting to, in a subtle way, repeat beats.”
Allen, known for hits including “Smile” and “The Fear”, has also acted on stage, including a high-profile run in 2:22 A Ghost Story in the West End. She announced her first tour since 2019 following the album’s release, and recently headlined Mighty Hoopla 2026.
