David Harbour is an exceptionally talented actor, who has made a name for himself through performances in massive projects like, Hellboy, and Violent Nights, as well as his work as The Red Guardian in the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Black Widow. Despite his work in these, however, the actor is perhaps most well-known for his work in the immensely successful Netflix series, Stranger Things as Jim Hopper.
While many would be quite glad that they are recognized through such a well-loved and popular character in a series such as that, that does not seem to be the case for Harbour, who has recently revealed that he does not want this role to define him for the rest of his career.
David Harbour Does Not Want To Be Known As Jim Hopper
David Harbour revealed that when he initially did the first season of Stranger Things, he was asked by his publicist if he truly wanted to be associated with the series to the degree that he was. While earlier, the actor ignored the warning, saying that he is proud of the show and character and would not want it any other way, he soon realized that this would cause him some problems in the future.
“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,'” Harbour recalled his initial thoughts. “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 revealed that as much as he loves the show as well as everything and everyone involved with it, he does not want to be only known as the character of Jim Hopper for the rest of his career, wanting people to focus on and adore his recent work just as much as they do his older work. The actor added that he wants to be more than just the person who played a cop in a hit show.
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David Harbour Wants To Be Like George Clooney
David Harbour then when on to talk about how he would like his career trajectory to follow that of George Clooney. The actor elaborated, stating that, initially in his career, Clooney was only known through his work in his series, ER, he changed the way audiences saw him, showing them his true capabilities as an actor and then going on to star in massive projects like starring in Batman and Robin as Batman himself.
“I’m trying to navigate some of that, and it’s tricky because you don’t want to sh*t 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,” Harbour explained. “I got more in me. I got different stuff in me, and I want you guys to see that. I don’t want people yelling ‘Hopper’ on the street every five minutes the rest of my life.”
Harbour stated that he wishes to follow in Clooney’s footsteps, showing his audiences that he is capable of many types of roles, even though they step away from the fan-favorite character. The actor then went on to say that talking about this in itself is quite challenging for him to navigate as he does not want to speak ill of his beloved cast member, however, get does wish that he could be seen in a different light.
Source: Comicbook
