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11 November 2025

David Harbour played a closeted cowboy in Brokeback Mountain, 11 years before Stranger Things fame

As Stranger Things nears its final season, fans are comparing Brokeback Mountain to the Netflix show’s queer fan ships

By Aaron Sugg

David Harbour in Brokeback Mountain and Stranger Things
David Harbour in Brokeback Mountain and Stranger Things (Images: Netflix)

Amid the controversy surrounding Lily Allen’s new album West End Girl and ahead of Stranger Things season five, we look back at David Harbour’s role as a closeted cowboy in the 2005 queer cult classic Brokeback Mountain.

Harbour has been making headlines recently as ex-wife Allen’s new album includes lyrics that appear to describe their split, referencing a “Duane Reade bag full of lube, Trojans, and butt plugs“.

Now, as he embarks on a world tour promoting the fifth and final season of Stranger Things, premiering on Netflix on 26 November 2025, fans are also remembering Harbour’s earlier queer role in the Oscar-winning film.

Who did David Harbour play in Brokeback Mountain?

The 50-year-old played Randall Malone, a cowboy who subtly propositions Jake Gyllenhaal’s character, Jack Twist, despite being in a straight marriage.

In a flirtatious exchange at a rodeo, Randall invites Jack on a “fishing trip,” adding: “We outta go down there some weekend. Drink a little whiskey, fish some, get away. You know?”

Many fans believe Randall is the “rancher friend” Jack later tells Ennis he’s been seeing, suggesting Jack continued seeking connection in his closeted life.

“Comparing Stranger Things to Brokeback Mountain is insane” – one user said about Noah Schnapp’s and Finn Wolfhard’s similarities to Harbour and Jake Gyllenhaal

Since the announcement of the Stranger Things finale, fans have been connecting the two films’ LGBTQ+ themes – particularly through the fan ship between Will Byers, played by Noah Schnapp, and Mike Wheeler, played by Finn Wolfhard.

One user posted to X: “Come on now I don’t give a shit about Byler or Mileven but comparing Stranger Things to Brokeback Mountain is insane. Stranger Things is nowhere near the level of queer storytelling as Brokeback Mountain. The only similarities is David Harbour is in both.”

Another user commented: “Always makes me kinda crazy when people don’t know David Harbour was in Brokeback Mountain. Like he was giving Jake Gyllenhaal fuck me eyes in that movie and y’all just forget he was there at all.”

Fans expressed that they want to see Harbour star in another queer role in future projects. One notably posted to X: “If Pedro Pascal and David Harbour are cast together in a Brokeback Mountain style movie I would literally lose my shit.”

Brokeback Mountain will celebrate it’s 20th anniversary this December, marking two decades since the film was originally released.

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