David Harbour reflects on experience of dating 'normal people'

David Harbour is opening up about his past relationships and why dating outside the entertainment world hasn’t always worked for him. 

In a new conversation with Scarlett Johansson for Interview Magazine, the Stranger Things actor reflected on his dating life, particularly during his twenties, and how difficult it was to connect with people from more conventional career paths.

When Johansson, 40, asked whether he tends to date other actors, Harbour brought up a moment from the Apple TV+ series The Studio to help explain his perspective.

“They just did an episode where Seth Rogen is the head of a studio and he’s dating an oncologist,” he shared. 

“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.”

Harbour added, “There’s something about that ideology with normal people,” suggesting that the emotional and creative world he lives in as an actor isn’t always easy for others to relate to. 

He looked back on trying to make relationships work with people in more conventional careers. 

“I tried to date lawyers and business people in my twenties,” he admitted. “But there’s something about being a carny freak that normal people don’t get.”

These comments come after recent reports about his personal life. 

In February, sources confirmed to PEOPLE that Harbour and singer Lily Allen had ended their marriage after four years. “Her marriage has been crumbling,” one insider said at the time, “and they have split.”