Law & Order: SVU Gave This Stranger Things Star One of His First Roles

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit is currently the longest-running primetime live-action series on American television, and so it makes sense that many famous actors have guest-starred or made cameos in the show. Sometimes, these actors appear in an episode of Law & Order: SVU before they become household names, with the Dick Wolf series becoming a stepping stone on their path to success. Such is the case of David Harbour, who in recent years has earned international recognition and the public’s affection thanks to his starring role as Jim Hopper in Stranger Things.

David Harbour began his career in theater and made his Broadway debut in 1999 in the revival of The Rainmaker, starring Woody Harrelson and Jayne Atkinson. Harbour soon moved to TV and films, and had roles in movies like Brokeback Mountain, Revolutionary Road, and The Equalizer. On television, Harbour’s first recurring role was as Roger Anderson, a member of MI6, in the period drama Pan Am. And while now many know and love Harbour for his role as the Chief of Hawkins Police Department and Eleven’s adoptive father in Stranger Things, or even as Red Guardian in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it was within the Law & Order universe that he began his television career.

David Harbour Had a Cameo Role In the Original Law & Order Series

Law & Order Was David Harbour’s Official On-Screen Acting Debut

• David Harbour was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play in 2005, for his role as Nick in the play Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
• Harbour has appeared in many Shakespeare theater productions, including Twelfth Night, Hamlet, and The Merchant of Venice.
• David Harbour recently also made his theater debut in a West End production with the 2022 play Mad House, where he played the role of Michael.

While Harbour already had some theater experience, it wasLaw & Order the show that gave him his first television role, and his first screen role ever. Harbour played a waiter named Mike in Law & Order Season 10, Episode 7, “Patsy,” which aired in November 1999. It was a small cameo role but one that gave Harbour his first television experience and opened the door for future appearances within the Law & Order franchise. Around this time, Harbour also worked in theater productions like Stranger and The Invention of Love.

Harbour returned to the original Law & Order series in 2008 in the Season 18 episode “Submission.” This time, he played con artist Jay Carlin and had a much bigger role than the first time he was on the show. Carlin wasn’t only a con artist, he also ran a dog fighting ring and was selling overpriced generic wine with his accomplice and partner, reporter Dawn Talley. Carlin and Talley worked together on the wine scam and later murdered the ex-wife of one of Carlin’s friends. Playing Jay Carlin was an important role for Harbour at the time, but it was Law & Order: SVU the show that first gave Harbour a chance to play more than a cameo role.

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Gave David Harbour His First Big Role on Television

David Harbour Appeared In Law & Order: SVU Two Years After His Cameo In Law & Order

• David Harbour has played a total of five different characters within the Law & Order franchise.
• Harbour appeared twice in the original Law & Order, once in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and twice in Law & Order: Criminal Intent.

In Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,Harbour guest-starred as a dark criminal who kidnapped and murdered a young girl. The SVU Season 7 episode titled “Dolls” aired in 2002 and followed the SVU squad’s investigation after they found the body of a 5-year-old girl named Susie, and another girl named Nina missing. Both of the girls came from troubled homes, and the detectives found out they were taken by Terry Jessup, who was posing as a social worker. Harbour played Jessup, who was severely abused as a child and grew up to become obsessed with dolls. Jessup would take the girls away from mothers who were struggling with drug addiction with the belief that he was helping those girls.

However, Jessup’s interest in the girls wasn’t as innocent as trying to save them from an unfit parent, as he would also abuse the girls, eventually killing Susie. The SVU detectives, and Fin Tutuola especially, become invested in Nina’s mother, the second girl who was taken and who is believed to still be alive. They did everything in their power to make Terry Jessup confess, and luckily, they were able to crack Jessup and find Nina alive. Harbour gave a powerful performance as Terry Jessup, a disturbing criminal but one who was also still haunted by his past and the abuse that he suffered at the hands of his own mother. Law & Order: SVU gave Harbour the chance to showcase his acting skills early on in his career, before other shows within the franchise, like the original Law & Order, and Law & Order: Criminal Intent, also featured Harbour in more prominent roles in different episodes.

David Harbour Is Now a Household Name Thanks to His Role in Stranger Things

Harbour’s Portrayal of Jim Hopper Earned Him a Loyal Fanbase As Well As Multiple Awards and Nominations

• For his role as Jim Hopper, David Harbour has been nominated for three Screen Actors Guild Awards, twice in the Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series category.
• Harbour also received a nomination for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for his role in Stranger Things.
• In 2018, David Harbour won Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series at the Critics’ Choice Television Awards, for his portrayal of Jim Hopper.

Outside the Law & Order franchise, Harbour has had an extensive and prolific career, with roles in many films and television series before landing his starring role in Netflix’s Stranger Things. In 2004, Harbour made his movie debut in the biographical drama film Kinsey alongside Liam Neeson, playing Robert Kinsey. He also appeared in the Academy Award-nominated film Brokeback Mountain, playing Randall Malone. That same year, Harbour appeared in a deleted scene from Tom Cruise’s War of the Worlds. He appeared in other big films as well, like 2016’s superhero film Suicide Squad, based on DC Comics, and the MCU’s Black Widow, and he even starred in the 2019 reboot of Hellboy.

Before his breakout role, Harbour also had a few recurring and starring roles in television series like Pan Am, The Newsroom, and State of Affairs. Since 2016, Harbour has starred in one of Netflix’s biggest hits, the science fiction horror drama series Stranger Things. Harbour quickly earned the public’s love and the critics’ approval with his portrayal of the troubled yet kind Hawkins Chief of Police Jim Hopper, becoming a fan favorite. His relationship as a surrogate father and protector of Eleven before officially adopting her pulled at fans’ heartstrings, and Hopper’s budding romance with Will Byers’s mother, Joyce, is one many fans were rooting for.

Currently, Harbour is set to return as Jim Hopper in Stranger Things Season 5, which is expected to be released sometime in 2025. He’s also working on the MCU’s Thunderbolts*, where he will reprise his role as Alexei Shostakov / Red Guardian alongside Sebastian Stan, Wyatt Russell, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Florence Pugh, and more. In addition, he’s currently filming for the upcoming action thriller film Levon’s Trade, written by Sylvester Stallone and based on the novel of the same name, and will star and executive produce the upcoming limited series My Dentist’s Murder Trial. Harbour is also a prolific voice actor and has appeared in animated shows like The Simpsons and Star Wars: Visions, and is currently working on the adult animated television series Creature Commandos as Eric Frankenstein, based on the characters from DC Comics.