David Harbour, who plays Jim Hopper in Stranger Things, wasn’t the first choice for the role. The Duffer brothers recently revealed who they originally wanted for the part.
Stranger Things directors reveal David Harbour was the second choice to play Jim Hopper
In a conversation with Josh Horowitz on his Happy Sad Confused podcast, Stranger Things creators revealed that Billy Crudup was their first choice for the role of Jim Hopper, not David Harbour.
In a pre-recorded segment on the podcast, Harbour put the question forward to the Duffers about the casting process of the character. He asked, “I’m pretty sure I was the second choice, and I don’t know who I was the second choice to. Maybe I was the third choice. But would you please answer the question of how I came to be cast as Chief Hopper? Who had to say no to allow me to do that wonderful, incredible role?”
After the question, Horowitz revealed his own guess: Josh Brolin, based on the Duffers’ clue that it was one of Harbour’s friends.
However, Matt Duffer interjected, “No, it was Billy Crudup, which is a very different — like, everything happens for a reason, right? So it’s like, once it kind of clicks into place. But yeah, Billy Crudup passed. I don’t think he was doing much TV at the time.”
Ross Duffer added, “And then David just, honestly, he just came in, and one of our casting directors thought he could be great for the role. He came and read, and he just did one take. We weren’t even there; we just saw the tape, and it was just so clear, instantly: this is Hopper. And we just cast him right then and there.”
Notably, Harbour’s Hopper, the Chief of Police, is undoubtedly one of the most beloved characters on the show. He played the adoptive father to Millie Bobby Brown’s Eleven and was later paired opposite Winona Ryder’s Joyce Byers. The 51-year-old actor portrayed the character for all five seasons.
Originally reported by Anwaya Mane on Mandatory.
