David Harbour delivered the acceptance speech for the cast of “Stranger Things” for its win for Best Ensemble Cast Sunday at the Screen Actors Guild Awards, and called the award “a call to arms” to stand against policies that “seek to destroy the weak, and the disenfranchised, and the marginalized.” A not-so-thinly-veiled jab at Donald Trump.
Like that of Mahershala Ali, Harbour’s speech was an answer to Trump’s executive order barring immigrants from seven Middle Eastern countries from traveling to the U.S. The order was derided as a de facto ban on Muslim immigrants, including those who already have green cards and visas. The SAG Awards came at the end of a weekend of protests against the ban at airports across the country. You can view Harbour’s speech above.
“I would just like to say that in light of everything that’s going on in the world today, it’s hard to celebrate the already celebrated ‘Stranger Things,’” said Harbour, who played Chief Jim Harper in the show, while surrounded by the rest of the cast on stage. “But this award from you, who take your craft seriously, and earnestly believe, like me, that great acting can change the world, is a call to arms from our fellow craftsmen and women to go deeper, and through our art to battle against fear, self-centeredness and exclusivity of our predominantly narcissistic culture, and through our craft to cultivate a more empathetic and understanding society by revealing intimate truths that serve as a forceful reminder to folks that when they feel broken, and afraid, and tired, they are not alone. We are united in that we are all human beings, and we are all together on this horrible, painful, joyous, exciting and mysterious ride that is being alive.”
Harbour continued, stating the cast would treat “Stranger Things” as an opportunity to “repel bullies” and “hunt monsters.”
“Now as we act in the continuing narrative of ‘Stranger Things,’ we 1983 Midwesterners will repel bullies. We will shelter freaks and outcasts, those who have no home. We will get past the lies. We will hunt monsters. And when we are at a loss amidst the hypocrisy and the casual violence of certain individuals and institutions, we will, as per Chief Jim Hopper, punch some people in the face when they seek to destroy the weak, and the disenfranchised, and the marginalized. And we will do it all with soul, with heart, and with joy. We thank you for this responsibility. Thank you.”