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Was it truly David Harbour executing that Olympic-level pommel horse routine in Episode 3 of DTF St. Louis? Not at all, but he’s flattered if you thought so.
**Spoiler Alert: Spoilers from Episode 3 of DTF St. Louis are discussed below. The series is now available for streaming on HBO Max.**
The latest episode of Steven Conrad’s outrageous limited series, featuring Jason Bateman and Linda Cardellini alongside Harbour, sees Floyd Smernitch (Harbour) spend time with his stepson at a playground. There, he impresses with an astonishing jungle gym routine. For those viewers who might have assumed that the Stranger Things star was actually pulling off those gymnastics, there’s a twist.
“Yes, that’s definitely me, doing an Olympic pommel horse routine,” Harbour joked during an interview with DECIDER. “It amuses me when people assume that because there are times I struggle just to lift myself up. It’s hilarious. I have footage of us piecing that scene together — we had an amazing athlete from Atlanta, one of the top in the world, perform the routine.”
Within the scene, Harbour’s character explains that he has practiced these gymnastics moves daily since his early teens, becoming an integral part of his persona. He uses this unexpected talent as a metaphor, telling Richard (played by Arlan Ruf) that practicing good manners is similar to his gymnastic feat; consistent practice strengthens the skill and makes it more natural over time.
“They put him in a big old Michelin Man outfit and he was amazing. I actually did have to tell him I was like, ‘Can you tone it down a little bit?’ Because the first thing he did was like, crazy windmills. I was like, ‘Just tone it down a little bit, make it a little look [worse],’” Harbour said.
It’s a heartwarming (if not slightly hilarious and odd) metaphor that Harbour’s character uses to try to impress upon his stepson the importance of treating others with respect. Since the beginning of the season, Richard has struggled with treating others and their property correctly, and it’s been something Floyd has worried about from the jump.
Although it’s worth noting that Floyd may have too much practice with his manners as Episode 3, “The Go Getter” also sees him passionately kissing the man he met on the DTF St Louis dating app. Floyd showed up to meet the person, who went by the screen name “Modern Love,” only to realize that it was not a woman as he suspected.
Still, in an effort not to be rude, Harbour’s character leaves the diner where the meet-up takes place and partakes in an emotionless makeout session with Christopher Spruce (Peter Sarsgaard), even letting “Modern Love” feel him up because he felt bad over the miscommunication. It’s another one of those moments that shines a light on just how “wonderful” Floyd truly is, and it’s another reason that Harbour loves the show.
He shared, “There’s all these things throughout the series where these little bonbons of hyper reality that stay grounded enough for you to watch the show, but also kind of, as you say, like make you stop and go like, ‘What is this?’ And I love making TV like that.”
The first three episodes of DTF St Louis are now streaming. New episodes premiere on Sundays.
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