Getting a big break in the form of an iconic character is a dream every actor aspires to have. The audience grows to associate the actor with the character and showers a lot of love to the actor. While the upside to this is an increased fanbase and more popularity, the downside is that it gets hard for an actor to break the clutter. For Stranger Things star David Harbour, the latter seems to be the case.
Harbour plays police chief Jim Hopper in the beloved Netflix series Stranger Things. The actor had his breakthrough with the series after over two decades of being in the industry. The role gained him movie characters such as the titular anti-hero in Hellboy and the Red Guardian in Black Widow. Despite the fame, the actor seems to want to turn his image upside down.
David Harbour’s Big Break With Stranger Things
Before he became a household name with the Duffer Brothers’ Stranger Things, David Harbour started her career on the stage. He appeared in multiple productions of Shakespeare’s plays such as The Tempest, The Winter’s Tale, and Hamlet. He made an appearance on Broadway with the revival of The Rainmaker. He was also nominated for a Tony Award for his performance in a production of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf.
Harbour made appearances in blockbusters such as the James Bond film Quantum of Solace, the Leonardo DiCaprio starrer Revolutionary Road, and Ang Lee’s Brokeback Mountain. He had a recurring role in the series Manhattan and made an appearance in Denzel Washington’s action film The Equalizer.
David Harbour got his big break in the Netflix original series Stranger Things. Created by the Duffer Brothers, the series was their tribute to the 80s as well as the mystery-horror novels of Stephen King. Harbour starred as Jim Hopper, the police chief of Hawkins, a fictional town. Hopper’s arc from being a lethargic soul to being one of the father figures to the kids in the show was lauded. He co-stars with Winona Ryder, Millie Bobby Brown, Finn Woflhard, and Gaten Matarazzo.
For his role as Jim Hopper, David Harbour received Primetime Emmy nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series twice and was nominated for a Golden Globe in the same category. He won the Critic’s Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series.
Why Does David Harbour Want A Break From Stranger Things?
David Harbour has been playing Jim Hopper since 2016. Four seasons of Stranger Things have been released so far and filming for a fifth and final season was underway before the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Despite all the fame and accolades that the role has brought him, Harbour mentioned that he wants to stop being known as Hopper to the audience. In an interview with Insider, he mentioned how he does not want to be a one-hit wonder and wants to expand his horizons. He said,
“The first year of Stranger Things, I remember having a discussion with a publicist and her saying, ‘Maybe you don’t want to be associated with the show so much,’ and I was like, ‘Why? I love this show. I love the character.’ And I do love the show. And I do love the character. But I don’t want to be just that character. I don’t want to be just that guy.”
The actor compared his position to that of George Clooney when he was still a regular on the medical procedural show ER. He mentioned that he wants to be more than just Hopper and wants to make films.
“I think about George Clooney leaving ER. Now we just see him as George Clooney. But there was a time when it was, ‘The guy from ER is doing a movie with Nicole Kidman.’ You don’t want to shit on the people that love you for this thing that you did that you also love. But at the same time, you kind of want to leave the nest. I got more in me.”
The actor has since appeared in the reboot of Hellboy, playing the titular role. He played the Red Guardian, the father figure of Scarlet Johannson’s Natasha Romanoff in Black Widow. He also headlined the action comedy Violent Night, in which he played Santa Claus, albeit in a fresh take. He also made an appearance in the Chris Hemsworth starrer Extraction and was recently seen in Neil Blomkamp’s Gran Turismo.
Source: Insider
