David Harbour appeared to avoid being pictured alone with on-screen love interest Winona Ryder at the Stranger Things final season premiere in LA on Thursday after admitting he ‘fell in love with her’ on set, Daily Mail reports.
According to the report by Daily Mail, the actor, David Harbour, 50, who stars as Chief Jim Hopper in the sci-fi/ horror series, looked in great spirits as he joined his co-stars for several snaps on the red carpet ahead of the premiere, but he seemingly kept his distance from Winona, 54.
The only time the pair were pictured together on the red carpet was when they gathered with the rest of the group for a series of sweet group shots.
In the group shots, Winona could be seen standing at the front alongside Finn Wolfhard, 22, and Gaten Matarazzo, 23, beaming for the cameras.
Meanwhile, David Harbour was standing on the far right alongside his on-screen daughter Millie Bobby Brown, 21, who stars as main character Eleven in the series, and film producer Ross Duffer, 41.
The pair’s appearance at the premiere comes after David admitted he ‘fell in love’ with ‘extraordinary creature’ Winona on the set of Stranger Things.
The actor has been at the centre of a media storm after his ex-wife Lily Allen, 40, dropped her West End Girl album – in which she appears to unpack their toxic relationship and accuse him of cheating.
But David Harbour reportedly has an unfaltering ally amid the scandal – his co-star, Winona.
In an interview with Esquire Spain, David gushed about how he admires Winona’s ability to be vulnerable and creative on set when asked about their bond.
‘I think that people who have done that at a level where I believe them and fall in love with them in a fake reality, I just have such awe of it.’
He added of Winona: ‘She’s such a deeply emotional human being that I could never be, I think she feels things in a way that I could never feel them.
‘She has a brain that… my brain couldn’t stretch to that amount of empathy. She’s just an extraordinary creature.’
Winona has reportedly been David’s shoulder to cry on amid the backlash after Lily’s confronting album.
A source told The Sun: ‘She has his back, and she’ll be at his side next month when they start promoting the final episodes of their show. She is not a judgmental person.
Just like she came to Johnny Depp’s defence during his scandal, she’ll be there for David because it’s clear to her that he’s getting a raw deal in all of this.’
Lily’s new album stunned fans, with what many have taken to be intricate details of the dissolution of her marriage to philandering ex-husband David, leaving jaws dropping.
West End Girl is an ode to her marriage to the Stranger Things actor, to whom she was married for four years after meeting on dating app Raya, with 14 tracks supposedly detailing in brutal honesty the breakdown of their relationship.
The record is her first in seven years and was recorded in just 10 days, in the wake of her devastating split from the star last December after Lily discovered his three-year affair and slew of infidelities.
Lily dropping her album comes before Millie and David also put on a bizarrely over-affectionate show at the premiere’s afterparty, despite her reportedly filing a harassment and bullying claim against him.
Snaps from inside the event, which took place at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles, showed Millie draped over David as they cosied up and shared a giggle.
She appeared to remain firmly by David’s side for most of the night, while her husband Jake Bongiovi was also pictured supporting her at the venue.
Hours earlier, Millie had baffled fans with her reaction when she came face-to-face with David at the season five premiere.
Despite reports that Millie had complained about David’s behaviour on set, she looked incredibly pleased to see him on the red carpet as they posed for snaps.
Last week, The Mail on Sunday revealed that Harbour faced an internal inquiry as a result of Brown’s complaints against him.
A source told The Mail on Sunday: ‘Millie Bobby Brown filed a harassment and bullying claim before they started shooting the last season. There were pages and pages of accusations. The investigation went on for months.’
Netflix declined to comment on the revelation, as did representatives for Brown, while representatives for Harbour and Stranger Things creators the Duffer Brothers didn’t respond.
In response to the streamer’s silence, the source said: ‘Netflix will never comment on an internal investigation, but the fact they’ve not denied it speaks volumes.
‘Stranger Things helped put Netflix on the map. Millions of fans around the world have been anticipating the finale,’ they added. ‘No one wants anything to take attention away from that.’