David Harbour, the actor famous for his roles in 2019’s Hellboy, Thunderbolts* and Violent Night, saw his fame skyrocket after he started playing Chief of Police Jim Hopper in the Netflix sci-fi horror series Stranger Things. And as much as the role was crucial in landing him other parts in major productions, Harbour feels relieved that the Netflix show is set to end soon. It’s not exactly burnout, but the actor says that, “You’re having to play a lot of the same beat.”
If you planned on campaigning for Hopper to get his own spin-off, you might want to change direction. Speaking with Interview Magazine alongside his Black Widow co-star Scarlett Johansson, when asked about his long run as Eleven’s father figure in Stranger Things, Harbour shows little remorse, instead expressing relief at being able to say goodbye to the character:
“When I started I loved it so much. Buddies of mine who’d done TV shows for many years said, ‘By season three or four you’ll be running.’ And I was like, ‘’ever! I love all these guys so much.’
And then you get to a certain point where you’re like, ‘How much more story is there?’ You’re having to play a lot of the same beat, and there’s a feeling where you’re like, ‘I want to take a risk. I want to do something that people haven’t seen me do before.’ So yeah, after ten years, it’s like, ‘Okay.'”
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Harbour is also likely referring to the restrictions some actors face when committing to a character or a show for so much time. Despite Stranger Things only having 42 episodes (34 episodes released so far, with the remaining eight coming in late 2025 to end the show), it’s almost 10 years of the actor’s life having to follow the commitments of his most iconic character:
“There’d be certain seasons where you feel like, ‘I’m going to go in this different direction.’ But as you say, a piece of your psyche is occupied with this group of people and this storyline. I don’t paint my nails, but I get that idea of ‘I can’t get a haircut’ or ‘I can’t shave this freaking mustache.'”
David Harbour Is Ready to Leave the Horrors of Hawkins Behind
Netflix
David Harbour is not the only one bidding adieu to the Netflix show, but he’s one of the performers who’s been vocal about leaving it in the past. The actor confirmed his next role would represent a change he’s been yearning for some time now: “It’s just a middle-aged guy going through middle-aged problems, as opposed to a character that has to kill a monster or save the world. So I do go back and forth, but I’ve been on the superhero, big-budget-y green screen stages a lot.”
However, given his future participation in Violent Night 2, the highly anticipated sequel to the “Drunk Santa will defend you from criminals” movie of 2022, Harbour will have to accept the mission of saving the world again. That and the upcoming MCU film Avengers: Doomsday, where he will reprise his character Red Guardian from Thunderbolts*.
Source: Interview Magazine
Release Date
2016 – 2025
Network
Netflix
Writers
Kate Trefry, Jessie Nickson-Lopez, Jessica Mecklenburg, Alison Tatlock
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