David Harbour is getting candid about mistakes and lessons learned just as his split from Lily Allen continues to make headlines.
The Stranger Things actor opened up about his life and career in a new interview with Esquire Spain, published on November 1 — only two weeks after Allen released her fiery new album West End Girl, which has fans buzzing over lyrics about betrayal and heartbreak.
The interview, which actually took place back in September, shows Harbour reflecting on how turning 50 has made him think about his past choices. He spoke about the “pain, slip-ups and mistakes” that have shaped him both as a man and as an artist.
When asked if he would change anything about his life, Harbour didn’t hesitate to acknowledge the complexity of regret. “That’s such a hard question – the question of regret, or something. I would change either everything or nothing,” he told the magazine.
He went on to explain that he sees every misstep as part of the bigger picture. “You either accept your path completely and realize that even the pain and the slip-ups and the mistakes are all part of the journey, and that there’s truth and growth, wisdom and deeper empathy and connection in all that.”
Harbour added that if he did get the chance to rewrite anything, he’d probably “just make my life happy and silly,” but admitted that doing so might mean losing the creative drive that makes him who he is. “That would mean I wasn’t an artist anymore,” he said with a laugh, “which would suck.”
The actor also looked to the future, saying there are people in his life he wants to “love, be good to and nurture.”
The timing of the interview has drawn even more attention because it arrived just as Allen’s new album dropped. West End Girl, written in just 10 days, lays bare her side of the breakup with raw honesty. The 14-track record includes songs that appear to touch directly on Harbour’s alleged infidelities — including an affair said to have lasted three years.
In the track Madeline, Allen sings, “I can’t trust anything that comes out of his mouth,” while another song, Tennis, reportedly names the woman she confronted after finding a suspicious text.
Fans have dissected the lyrics line by line, convinced they reveal details about what went wrong in Allen and Harbour’s marriage. The couple married in 2020 but have since gone their separate ways amid allegations of cheating.
Adding a bit of humour to the heartbreak, Allen cheekily dressed up as “Madeline” — referencing the children’s book character that inspired one of her new songs — for Halloween, in what many saw as a playful dig at her ex.
While Harbour didn’t directly address Allen or the breakup in the interview, his talk of regret and personal growth seems to echo the emotional tone of her new music. Whether intentional or not, both seem to be using their art to work through the fallout of a relationship that clearly left its mark.You have not enough Humanizer words left. Upgrade your Surfer plan.
