David Harbour, known for his role as Jim Hopper in Stranger Things, is opening up about his life before his career took off and how he feels since being cast in such a worldwide phenomenon.

In an interview with Variety, Harbour isn’t holding back when discussing his 16-year career as an actor, which began in Broadway productions such as Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, to supporting film/TV roles in projects such as The Newsroom and State of Play. However, the major turning point was, of course, the role as Hopper in Netflix’s sci-fi series.

When asked what Stranger Things has changed in Harbour’s career and life, he stated:

“I’m interested now in what happens after Stranger Things, in terms of walking through those doors. Whereas, had you asked me that question seven years ago? It just ripped apart the whole conception of what I would be. I got to a certain point in my life when I was 35 — I really enjoyed being number seven on a call sheet of, like, a Denzel Washington action movie.

It was a lovely life, a fantastic life, a one-bedroom-rental-in-the-East-Village life, and Stranger Things changed that entire life in many ways. The one thing that hasn’t changed is my intent, and I think my intent has always been to tell beautiful, weird stories that open people up. That’s been the same pre-Stranger Things and after Stranger Things, but everything else has changed.”

Harbour is now appearing in a few upcoming projects as Stranger Things prepares to release the final season beginning on November 26. He has joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe as the Red Guardian in Black Widow, Thunderbolts*, and the new Avengers film Doomsday, which will premiere next year. He will also be starring in the sequel to Violent Night as Santa, once again.

Despite the doors opening for Harbour, it’s his old life that he is most nostalgic for. Most recently, he was embroiled in a scandal due to his estranged wife Lily Allen’s allegations made in her new album West End Girl, as well as reports that his Stranger Things co-star Millie Bobby Brown filed a harassment complaint against Harbour.

Harbour and Brown have since squashed the rumors of conflict during their recent press tour to promote season 5 of Stranger Things.

In the interview, when asked how it felt to be a part of something as big as Stranger Things, Harbour stated that “you gain something, and you lose something“, but it’s hard for him to be open fully due to people’s perception and all the eyes being on him and his co-stars:

“I would prefer the freedoms of that first season. And yet, I love the attention, and I love capturing the widest audience possible, and I love moving the most people with what you’re doing.

This is just something that entertainment struggles with. I guess the long and the short of it is just that you gain something — obviously, clearly — and you also remember and miss those days when we were all naive and had all the freedom in the world because no one expected anything of us.”

Stranger Things season 5 begins with the release of volume 1 on November 26, followed by volume 2 on December 25, and the finale will be released on December 31 in select theaters and on Netflix.