David Harbour says he wanted to change his character Jim Hopper from being just a doting dad in Stranger Things season 4. Created by brothers Matt and Ross Duffer, Stranger Things first debuted on Netflix in 2016 and has since become a massive hit for the streamer, earning itself a legion of fans and smashing viewership records. Set during the 1980s, the show follows a series of supernatural occurrences in the town of Hawkins, Indiana, linked to an alternate reality dubbed the ‘Upside Down’ and a series of covert government experiments conducted at the Hawkins National Laboratory.
Picking up a few months after the events of Stranger Things season 3, season 4 part 1 sees Harbour’s Jim Hopper far from home, and imprisoned in a Russian gulag. Once thought to be killed in the explosion at the Starcourt Mall in the season 3 finale, instead Stranger Things season 4 reveals Hopper was captured by Russian forces and punished for his role in destroying the gate into the Upside Down. Meanwhile, Joyce (Winona Ryder), Will (Noah Schnapp), Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown), and Jonathan (Charlie Heaton) have moved to California, and the township of Hawkins finds itself facing a new supernatural threat in the form of the frightening villain Vecna.
In a recent interview with The Wrap (via Yahoo) Harbour discussed his return to the role of Hopper in Stranger Things season 4, and what he felt his character needed in terms of his development. Suggesting that Hopper “had to have a reinvention,” the actor said his fake death in season 3 allowed his character to be redefined. Harbour says Hopper could become more than just the father figure. Check out his full comments below:
I think they’ve always had an arc for him. I wouldn’t want to take credit for changing the direction of what the Duffers (Matt and Ross) feel about it, but I think that they’re always responsive to what we want to do, and they’re very brave in terms of allowing the characters to grow. As we’d seen Hopper’s growth, both in domesticity and in waistline, we were like, “How much further can he go down this road of being the angry dad yelling at his daughter for kissing a boy?” Something had to turn, and something had to shift. He had to have a reinvention.
His fake death allowed him that complete reinvention. Then once we had that part mapped out, it was like, Wow, what would be a really fun, exciting re-imagining of the essence of Hopper? It’s a much more real warrior, this real beast, this animal that we’ve always known he was, but we all wanted to see that stripped bare. As a man, I’ve been sort of compartmentalized sometimes as being a dad figure and my fear is that you’re just completely desexualized or dehumanized. It’s like the mom jeans of roles. You just become a foil for a child who has the actual life, and you just are a character in that. I want to still be able to play a man in all his complexity. They allowed me this, and it’s very gratifying to do that.
Hopper’s imprisonment and attempts to escape and return to America form a large focus of Stranger Things season 4 part 1. Facing harsh conditions, malnutrition and mistreatment at the hands of the guards, his character has indeed been “stripped bare” of the comforts and safety nets he once enjoyed back in Hawkins. Yet, as Harbour explains, while he is forcibly removed from all that he loves, Hopper’s determination and resolve appear stronger than ever as he seeks to survive his predicament and find a way back. While building on the strong and protective father figure seen in Stranger Things season 1 to 3, Hopper's Russia storyline certainly shows off a new, darker and more complex side to the character.
While Stranger Things season 4 part 1 finally sees Hopper reunited with Joyce in a hastily improvised rescue plan with Murray (Brett Gelman), exactly how Hopper manages to make his way back to American soil remains to be seen. If, or rather when, he does return home, Hopper's reunion with his adopted daughter Eleven will no doubt be an emotional moment. While once home, the threat of Vecna and the Upside Down will still offer Hopper plenty more opportunities to showcase his warrior resolve and prove himself far more than just the doting father, his love for Eleven is still at the core of his character. Thankfully, audiences don't have much longer before they see how the two may come back together, with Stranger Things season 4 part 2 releasing on Netflix on July 1.
Source: The Wrap (via Yahoo)