David Harbour has been appearing professionally for over 20 years—he was nominated for a Tony in 2005—however his large break got here with Stranger Issues. Harbour’s portrayal of Sheriff Jim Hopper instantly endeared him to viewers, and over the present’s run we’ve seen Hawkins, Indiana’s prime cop morph from boozy unhappy sack to strict however loving dad to supernatural beastie-fighting hero to Siberian jail escapee, plus somewhat romantic pressure with Winona Ryder’s character on the facet.
And since Stranger Issues‘ debut in 2016, Harbour has parlayed his Netflix success to different starring roles; whereas his Hellboy was a bust, he additionally created an entire new form of Santa Claus within the wonderful Violent Night time and entered the Marvel Cinematic Universe by way of Black Widow and Thunderbolts. He’s additionally discovered success on the DC facet too, starring in animated collection Creature Commandos.
Whereas it doesn’t look like Stranger Issues‘ filming schedule has held him again from including to his filmography, he’s clearly prepared for the liberty he’ll have as soon as the present has aired its last batch of episodes. His schedule can be extra open to new initiatives, in fact, however he’ll additionally be capable of put Jim Hopper to mattress for good.
In an Interview Journal chat with Scarlett Johansson, his co-star in Black Widow, he sounded grateful however weary.
“After I began I cherished it a lot. Buddies of mine who’d performed TV exhibits for a few years mentioned, ‘By season three or 4 you’ll be operating.’ And I used to be like, By no means! I like all these guys a lot,’” he recalled. “And then you definately get to a sure level the place you’re like, ‘How far more story is there?’ You’re having to play numerous the identical beat, and there’s a sense the place you’re like, ‘I wish to take a threat. I wish to do one thing that individuals haven’t seen me do earlier than.’ So yeah, after 10 years, it’s like, ‘Okay.’”
Later, he elaborated extra on what it felt prefer to be so dedicated to Jim Hopper, in response to Johansson talking about being locked into her Marvel character for months at a time and never feeling challenged (or capable of change something about her look).
“There’d make sure seasons the place you are feeling like, ‘I’m going to go on this totally different route.’ However … a chunk of your psyche is occupied with this group of individuals and this storyline,” he mentioned. “I don’t paint my nails, however I get that concept of ‘I can’t get a haircut’ or ‘I can’t shave this freaking mustache.’”
One of many post-Stranger Issues Harbour initiatives we’re most excited for is the Violent Night time sequel, which Selection reported right now simply acquired a launch date of December 4, 2026.
Stranger Issues returns November 26 to Netflix for the primary 4 episodes of season 5. The remainder of the season rolls out December 25 (episodes 5-7) and December 31 (episode 8).
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