Stranger Things star David Harbour is preparing to sail to the Antarctic next month after using his Twitter following to help raise awareness about protecting marine ecosystems.
The actor reached out to environmental activists at Greenpeace via social media on Sunday after spotting a campaign message about establishing the Antarctic Ocean Sanctuary to protect penguins and other wildlife on the continent of Antarctica.
David asked organisation officials how many retweets he would need to join their upcoming expedition and make his dream of dancing with penguins come true, and after he was set the challenge of 200,000 on Monday, he called on his 760,000 followers for their support, and managed to achieve the feat in under five hours.
“Internet… It took ya less than 5hrs (sic),” he announced later that night. “I’m a little shaky n sweaty (sic), Heart pounding. I’ve never said this to a multi-user weblike platform of tons of computers connected worldwide, but… Internet… I think I love you… Hey @Greenpeace , your move…”
A representative for Greenpeace has since responded with an official invitation from the ship’s captain to have Harbour climb aboard when they depart from Chile in the coming weeks.
“Well, @DavidKHarbour, chief mate Fernando just made it official,” they responded early on Tuesday. “Get your dancing shoes on, because you’ll be heading to the Antarctic in no time. The ‘guins are here waiting for you.”
The post was accompanied by a video message from Captain Fernando, who addressed Harbour and said: “I just saw your post on Twitter and it’s amazing, so I invite you to come on our ship in Punta Arenas the beginning of February and join our expedition to come to Antarctica and protect the biggest area in the world.”
He also mimicked a dance move Harbour showed off as his Stranger Things character Jim Hopper in the recent second season of the hit sci-fi series, prompting an overjoyed David to reply, “Fernando, thanks for protecting vital unheralded ecosystems in super cold places and everything but please leave the dancing to the professionals… If you’ll excuse me. I gotta get some snow pants.”
