Before he was the smooth-dancing, Big Dad Energy Chief Hopper on Stranger Things, David Harbour played anchorman Elliot Hirsch on HBO’s The Newsroom. In a humorous, and maybe a little concerning Instagram post, Harbour decided to dunk on his old character while apparently finding ways to entertain himself during some responsible social distancing to curb the spread of the coronavirus:
It’s in crisis times like these that I’m grateful that dumb fake news reporters like Elliot are off the air. Cancelled for being far more interested in his twitter follower count and his sweet side part than facts. Good riddance ya hump, we don’t want you telling us to wash our hands! #newsroom #elliothirsch #apartmentlockdown #bored #oldphotos #terrified #pandemic #washyourhands #takecareofeachother #justdonttouch
You can see Harbour’s self-deprecating Instagram post below:
Setting aside concern for Harbour’s sanity, the actor is actually fond of his self-absorbed Newsroom character, and he told the L.A. Times back in 2017 that he wishes the show would come back to take on the age of Trump:
“All of Aaron Sorkin’s characters are so smart. I really wanted Elliot to be the dumbest one on the show. Like I really wanted him to be the guy who cared most about how many followers he got on Twitter, not so much about the news. It would be fun if they brought it back. I really would want Elliot to have a rift with Will [Jeff Daniels] though and be a real Trump supporter. He’d probably try to justify the covfefe tweet.”
While Harbour won’t be returning to The Newsroom anytime soon, the Stranger Things 4 teaser confirmed his fan-favorite police chief will be back when the new season of the supernatural series hits Netflix. Harbour will also make his MCU debut as Red Guardian whenever Black Widow makes its way into theaters. Should that movie’s release fall victim to the coronavirus, somebody might want to keep an eye on Harbour’s Instagram to make sure he’s hanging in there.
