Stranger Things Fans Shocked After Matt Duffer Reveals David Harbour Wasn’t a First Choice for Hopper
David Harbour may now be impossible to imagine as Jim Hopper, but the Stranger Things creators almost cast someone else in the role. During a recent interview on the Happy Sad Confused podcast with Josh Horowitz, Matt and Ross Duffer opened up about the early casting process behind the Netflix hit and revealed that Harbour was not actually their first choice for the character.
The topic came up after Harbour himself sent in a pre-recorded question asking the Duffers to finally explain how he landed the role. The actor joked that he believed he was probably the “second choice” or maybe even the “third choice” for Hopper and wanted to know who turned the part down before him.
Matt Duffer confirmed that actor Billy Crudup was originally at the top of their list. “It was Billy Crudup,” he said during the interview. “Everything happens for a reason, right? Once it kind of clicks into place.” According to Matt, Crudup decided not to take the role because he was not doing much television work at the time.
Josh Horowitz guessed that Josh Brolin might have been the actor they wanted first, but the Duffers quickly shut that theory down. Instead, they explained that things changed completely once Harbour auditioned.
Ross Duffer said one of the casting directors suggested Harbour for the role, and the moment they watched his audition tape, the decision became easy. “He came and read and he just did one take,” Ross explained. “We weren’t even there, we just saw the tape, and it was just so clear instantly: this is Hopper.”
That audition ended up becoming one of the most important casting choices in the series. Harbour went on to play Hopper throughout all five seasons of Stranger Things and became one of the show’s most loved characters. His chemistry with Winona Ryder’s Joyce Byers and Millie Bobby Brown’s Eleven became a major part of the emotional core of the series.
The interview also gave fans a rare look into how different Stranger Things could have been if another actor had stepped into the role. While Billy Crudup is now known for starring in The Morning Show on Apple TV+, the Duffers made it clear that Harbour ultimately felt like the perfect fit once they saw him perform.
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