David Harbour Is Ready to Move On From ‘Stranger Things’

Despite the international stardom he’s achieved through Stranger Things, David Harbour is ready to say goodbye to Jim Hopper.

In an interview with Insider published on Wednesday, Harbour admitted that while he loves the character of Hopper, “I don’t want to be just that character. I don’t want to be just that guy.” The 48-year-old went on to reaffirm his respect for both the show and creators the Duffer Brothers. However, he feels that he has outgrown Hopper.

“It’s tricky because you don’t want to shit on the people that love you for this thing that you did that you also love,” Harbour told the outlet. “But at the same time, you kind of want to leave the nest. 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 hopes to focus his attention on big-screen fare and alter audience's perception of him in a way similar to another A-list movie star. "I think about George Clooney leaving ER," he continued. "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.'"

The Ocean's 11 star made his name on the NBC medical drama and in low-budget exploitation movies, before becoming one of the biggest movie stars in the world. Though Harbour has appeared in a variety of films, including a supporting role in Black Widow and as the title character in 2019’s Hellboy reboot, the actor credits his starring turn in 2022's Violent Night with opening new doors professionally.

“I’ve been on Netflix…but [Violent Night] was a small original movie that’s going to a cinema,” he said of the gory action flick, which saw him starring as Santa Claus attempting to rescue an imperiled family on Christmas Eve. “I like this playing field. I want to make original movies that go to the movie theaters.”

Harbour can now be seen on the big screen in Gran Turismo, an adaptation of the popular video game series crossed with the true story of video-game-champion-turned-race-car-driver Jann Mardenborough. The movie is currently in limited release, and will go wide August 25th.