David Harbour, who is now best known as Hopper from Stranger Things, recently opened up about his fears regarding his career following the release of Hellboy (2019). As it turns out, he turned to Ryan Reynolds for advice on the matter.
Few fans need to be reminded that Hellboy did not perform well with critics or at the box office. As a result, Stranger Things star Harbour turned to Reynolds, who had his fair share of career disappointments, including the infamous Green Lantern movie.
Harbour said in a recent interview with GQ that he turned to his acquaintance and blockbuster film star Reynolds. Harbour shared that he knew Hellboy would not perform well in theaters, so he decided to seek advice from someone who had been through a similar situation. "I know him a little bit," Harbour said of the Deadpool star. "I called him and I was like, 'Hey man, I just need to know something. You know Green Lantern? Huge flop for you. What the f*** is that like, because I think I'm going to hit that right now. Am I gonna be okay? Am I gonna survive this?'" Harbour shared that Reynolds was "sweet" about the phone conversation.
Harbour discussed his experience working on Neil Marshall's Hellboy, and how he had high hopes for it in the beginning. "It was a very difficult experience because I wanted a lot out of it," he said. "I really like [Mike Mignola], I like that character. And then immediately when it began, even when it was announced, I realized that people did not want that character reinvented. I was very naive and optimistic about what we were going to do."
Outside of his Hellboy stories, Harbour discussed his experience working on the set of season four of Stranger Things, and how he believed season four ultimately turned out. "I thought it was great," he said, following the release of volume two. "I loved it. It's very moving." Harbour shared that one of his favorite moments from this season was the Empire Strikes Back-esque cliffhanger that leaves Hawkins in a state of panic. "There's like, huge rift earthquakes going through all of Indiana, one would assume," he said. "So I don't know what the f*** is gonna happen in season five now."
Back in 2020, Harbour opened up about why he believed the 2019 adaptation of Hellboy was not met with the same optimism from fans. According to the star, the film's failure was primarily due to fans of the Guillermo del Toro movies who were angry about a reboot. However, many other issues caused Hellboy fans to stay home instead of hitting the theaters that opening weekend. Rumors of behind-the-scenes issues surrounding the script circulated, which caused fans to question the integrity of the film and its writing. In addition, the film received many overwhelmingly bad reviews, with critics giving it 19 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. While it is true that many del Toro fans did not want a reinvention of Ron Perlman's iconic character, the film faced many other issues outside its limited fanbase.
Stranger Things season 4 is now streaming on Netflix.
Source: GQ Magazine, Slash Film