Things aren’t going well for David Harbour’s Stranger Things alter-ego, Police Chief Jim Hopper.
Speaking with MTV News, Harbour talked about his breakout role in Netflix’s supernatural smash hit and how things might be heading downhill for the Chief of Police. The first season’s journey was a taxing one, after all, sending the alcoholic cop to the brink of reality itself, and now it looks like the show’s second season will examine how Hopper has been coping with the aftermath.
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“You gotta go alright, it’s a year later, and one of the most subtle, interesting arcs of this season to me is what happens to a person when they take a heroic action and they become somewhat of a superhero and what that does to their ego and what it does to their sense of control issues and what it does to maybe where they feel like they start to overextend themselves and they have to check their ego or be humbled again,” Harbour said.
Harbour is well aware that the idea of a humbled Hopper might not sit well with fans, who found the character a relatable, if often irate, small town anchor in a world gone mad. According to Harbour, though, it’s natural to feel off-kilter when the impossible has been happening around you.
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“That’s a humiliating thing for Hopper to feel, but it’s a very human thing,” Harbour said. “[People] all make mistakes, and they’re not as great as you want them to be and they let you down.”
Harbour also praised the atmosphere the Duffer brothers created on the set of Stranger Things, calling it one of the best creative environments he has experienced in television or film.
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Subtle humiliation may plague Hopper, but Harbour is on the unadulterated upswing. Along with a starring role on one of the biggest hits on one of the biggest streaming platforms, Harbour was recently named the star of the next Hellboy installment, even earning approval from the original demonic anti-hero, Ron Perlmen.
Debuting on the Netflix streaming service on Oct. 27, the second season of Stranger Things is a production of 21 Laps Entertainment created by Matt and Ross Duffer. The series stars Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Finn Wolfhard, Millie Bobby Brown, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Natalia Dyer, Charlie Heaton, Cara Buono, Matthew Modine, Noah Schnapp, Joe Keery, Sadie Sink and Dacre Montgomery.