The Game That Ruined David Harbour's Life

It's no surprise that some actors are also gamers. While you might not always be able to guess which ones game and which don't, there are plenty of stars in Hollywood who enjoy playing video games. One of the most famous is "The Witcher" star Henry Cavill, known for his deep love of PC Gaming and the fact that he nearly missed the call to play Superman because he was playing "World of Warcraft." Another popular actor has recently revealed his journey with "World of Warcraft," although he doesn't view his experience as positively.

That actor is David Harbour, best known for his role as Jim Hopper in "Stranger Things," who had his life both ruined and saved by video games. During a Netflix Geeked Week interview for "Stranger Things," host Felicia Day mentioned that she and Harbour had been talking about "World of Warcraft" off-camera, which prompted Harbour to share his woes. He referred to his experience with the popular MMO "the most embarrassing thing in [his] existence." 

He added, "In 2005 ... It ruined my life for like a year. I mean, I was like out of my mind. Yeah, I was wildly addicted to this video game... I was a Night Elf warrior called Norad, and he was ... second tank of my, my whole guild," Harbour said. Thankfully, although he's embarrassed of his time with the game, Harbour revealed that another title managed to bring him out of his addiction to "World of Warcraft."

Day asked Harbour if he participated in raids, which he said he did. Harbour then went on to say that one game was able to pull him out of his "World of Warcraft" hole. He went on to say that he also played "The Sims" and in that game, Harbour made a version of himself. That version of himself was also an actor, and Harbour was constantly working on his Sim's career and skills, to an almost obsessive point.

"I remember my avatar got to a certain level in his career, and I kept trying to get him to work on his speech... He was like a supporting player, but I wanted him to work on his speech and his body, and all he wanted to do was sit around and play video games," Harbour explained. "And then I was like, 'Whoa who whoa whoa,' I had this vortex moment where I saw my life before my eyes." This was apparently enough to shake Harbour from his "WoW"-obsessed reverie.

Everything worked out for Harbour eventually, getting major roles in projects like "Stranger Things" and "Black Widow."