When Stranger Things first began filming in 2015, Millie Bobby Brown was just 11 years old, while David Harbour was a veteran actor stepping into the role of a gruff police chief.
Over the years, their onscreen bond as Eleven and Jim Hopper grew into a close off-camera relationship that both have described as deeply personal and protective.
Now, nearly a decade later, that history is being reexamined after a recent report emerged alleging that Brown had reportedly filed a complaint against Harbour.
David Harbour and Millie Bobby Brown’s friendship mirrored their onscreen father-daughter dynamic
Image credits: Cindy Ord/Getty Images
Brown and Harbour first met on the Atlanta set of Stranger Things, which premiered on Netflix in 2016.
At the time, Harbour took on the role of Jim Hopper, who becomes Eleven’s adoptive father in the show’s storyline. Their off-screen relationship soon began to reflect that same sense of trust and mentorship, according to People magazine.
Image credits: Stranger Things/X
In past interviews, Harbour said that in the early seasons, he tried to stay in character around the younger cast, including Brown, Finn Wolfhard, and Noah Schnapp, to help them stay immersed in the story.
“I wanted to preserve a lot of the character of Hopper off-screen for these kids because I wanted their performances to be as rich as possible,” he told People in 2020.
Image credits: David Harbour/Instagram
But as the seasons went on, Harbour said that approach softened.
“You just become like a family,” he explained, adding that the connection between him and his young costars evolved into one that felt “more like a mentor relationship.”
Brown has also reflected on how their connection developed alongside their characters.
Speaking at PaleyFest in 2018, she described their interactions as “raw and real,” saying they sometimes clashed like family but always worked through their emotions.
“We got angry at each other… (we) would express our feelings on and off the set, and… those scenes were so raw and real that the reward is the scenes,” she said.
The onscreen father-daughter duo’s bond was shaped by fame, protection, and growing up in the spotlight
Image credits: David Harbour/Instagram
Harbour has often spoken about feeling protective toward Brown, especially as she navigated global fame at such a young age.
In a 2021 podcast appearance, he said, “I have a real protective feeling for her. I have a real, like, worry. I worry about her and the fame and all that she has to struggle with. And I’ve just always felt this kind of deep fatherly affection for her.”
Image credits: David Harbour/Instagram
That sense of concern dates back years. In 2018, after winning a Critics’ Choice Award for his role, Harbour publicly voiced his hope that Brown would “get the help that she needs” as a young person handling immense public attention.
“I think she’s in the crosshairs of something extremely dangerous that nobody seems to be paying attention to.
Image credits: Netflix
“As someone who gets this famous and still has a brain that is not fully developed, (this) is an extremely difficult thing to navigate, and I hope that she gets the help that she needs.
“I know that I try to protect her as much as I can,” he said.
Image credits: David Harbour/Instagram
For Brown, that protective energy was something she often acknowledged.
“Winona Ryder and David Harbour are like my parents,” she told Variety in 2018.
Image credits: David Harbour/Instagram
“On set, they’re like, ‘Stop running, what are you eating, why are you eating that?’”
She also joked that Harbour would tease her about her early relationships, saying, “David is like, ‘Another boy?’”
Harbour, for his part, admitted that despite his concerns for Brown growing up in the spotlight, he is hoping that she will find immense success in her career.
“I want her to be an artist who, when I’m in the nursing home, she can bring me her Oscars,” he said.
Recent reports alleging that Brown had filed a complaint against Harbour have cast a dark shadow over their long professional history
Image credits: David Harbour/Instagram
This long-standing connection has recently come under renewed scrutiny. According to a Daily Mail report, Brown, now 21, had filed a “bullying and harassment” complaint against Harbour, now 50, before production on the fifth and final season of Stranger Things began.
The outlet reported that a “months-long investigation” followed, though the complaint itself did not involve any allegations of s**ual misconduct. The Mail also claimed that Brown had a representative with her while Stranger Things Season 5 was being filmed.
Image credits: David Harbour/Instagram
Representatives for Brown, Harbour, and Netflix have not commented publicly on the report.
Brown, however, recently spoke warmly about Harbour in an interview with Empire Magazine last month, recalling how they “connected on another level” while making the show.
Image credits: Stranger Things/X
“He always looked out for me, and I always annoyed him like a daughter or a younger sister. I was always trying to climb all over him, and he was always rolling his eyes and laughing at me,” Brown said.
“I think that’s kind of how the El and Hopper relationship really started to develop in the show. It was mirroring our actual lives and our actual relationship.”
Netizens shared their thoughts on David Harbour and Millie Bobby Brown’s 10-year professional relationship on social media
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