When David Harbour signed on for HBO’s dark comedy DTF St. Louis, he knew he was venturing into unfamiliar territory. After building a career playing rugged, larger-than-life figures — from his Emmy-nominated performance as the gruff Chief Jim Hopper in Stranger Things to the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Red Guardian to the hard-drinking Santa Claus of Violent Night — the new role demanded one of the biggest creative leaps of his career.
Created and directed by Steven Conrad, DTF St. Louis stars Harbour stars as Floyd Smernitch, a tenderhearted ASL interpreter entangled in a fatal suburban love triangle involving his wife, played by Linda Cardellini, and his best friend, a TV weatherman played by Jason Bateman. Richard Jenkins and Joy Sunday co-star as the detectives investigating the case. As Harbour explains, taking on such a vulnerable role while also stepping behind the camera as an executive producer was a gamble, but it paid off when the seven-part series landed 13 Emmy nominations.
Having previously earned nods for playing Hopper, Harbour says this time feels particularly meaningful. “The acting nomination is really nice for me personally, because this character’s just so different,” Harbour explains. While Hopper embodied “a sort of rugged masculinity, which hides a very warm heart inside,” Floyd wears his emotions on his sleeve. “This guy is mushy all over just with his belly and his heart and everything,” Harbour says. “It seems to me a nomination like this means that people are excited to see me do that.”
Harbour spoke with Gold Derby about filming the show’s most vulnerable scenes, balancing the demands of producing, and what he hopes to tackle next.
Gold Derby: Was there a specific scene or moment where you really locked into the character of Floyd?
David Habour: Floyd became unlocked for me with the sign language in general. He was this guy who had been very conventionally attractive, and he feels bad about losing that. But he’s found this way to express his physical life and to touch people through sign language, to affect people’s lives. I think that core characteristic is such an odd, peculiar thing: he needed an entirely new language, and that language couldn’t be speaking; it had to be with his body. I thought that was such an interesting character trait, and it really started to unlock a whole series of internal conversations about Floyd. That was really the kernel of where I thought he lived — in the signing.
Speaking of movement, there are several scenes where Floyd dances, including while signing on stage. Where did that physical enthusiasm come from?
I just love his dancing. I remember when I was a teenager we had our first seventh grade social, and it was a dance. I remember thinking, “Ooh, to impress a girl, I’m going to have to learn how to dance.” So I would watch Michael Jackson or different performers who were extraordinary dancers. I’m not much of a dancer, but the enthusiasm and the vigor with which I put my heart into it is certainly there.
Did that same enthusiasm hold true for the scene near the end where you’re dancing in your underwear with Jason Bateman?
That was a really powerful day. I think Jason and I want to take risks, and we also want it to be good, grounded, and feel like it works. First of all, I was kind of terrified because there were all these Atlanta crew members who had worked on Stranger Things there who I was positive were going to make fun of me for being in my tighty-whities dancing around with Jason Bateman to hip-hop. But they all applauded at the end of the take. The fact that there was a generosity of spirit around this vulnerable moment between human beings was just. … I’ve never really experienced anything like it in that setting. It was very special.
Tone plays such a massive role in the series. Were there any scenes you loved that ultimately had to be cut for the sake of the overall edit?
There were sequences that we cut to find that very particular tone. There are things that we lost that I loved, but I’m glad that we lost them for the overall tone of the show. There was a whole sequence of me on a recumbent bike after the Modern Love date like, singing on this recumbent bike.
How do Floyd’s quirks and wackiness serve the larger story that creator Steven Conrad is telling?
I think Steve is constantly trying to sculpt the world of entertainment amidst this profound stuff, but that wackiness is so essential. I see it with Widow’s Bay — I just watched that, and that’s so enjoyable and has such a unique tone. I do think people are searching for something in television that they’re not getting in other media right now. Storytelling media is so strong and so all-invasive on our phones. When we sit down with a television show, I think we want to feel like we’re watching something weird.
What proved to be the biggest challenge of producing television for the first time?
Producing a television show is insanity on all levels. I think if you have a good, healthy sense of humor about it — which I do now — it helps. There were times throughout this four-year process where you’re in the trenches, trying to figure things out and having arguments with people, and you just can’t believe it. You’re like, “I quit. I want out.” And then you get to the finish line and you’re like, “Oh, this is one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever done.” So I’m hooked. I love it and I want to do more.
