‘Stranger Things’ creators reveal dream Hopper and Joyce casting pitches
Stranger Things fans might be surprised to hear that the Hopper we know and love was almost played by other very famous actors.
One of the most iconic characters of the popular Netflix show is Jim Hopper (David Harbour) who had an uncertain but heartbreaking fate at the end of the most recent season.
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The cliffhanger only made us even more crazy about him, and now we’re learning that it all could have gone down with another person besides Harbour embodying the Hawkins local.
A TV bible made by the show’s creators the Duffer brothers when they pitched the show reveals that the showrunners didn’t have Harbour as their first pick for the role. In fact, it was intended for an actor like Sam Rockwell or Ewan McGregor.
The show was originally pitched as a single-season series, so they thought they could get two big names to play Joyce Byers (Winona Ryder) and Hopper. Even Joyce wasn’t initially supposed to be played by the actress.
“For example, Ewan McGregor, Sam Rockwell for Hopper [and] Naomi Watts or Marisa Tomei for Joyce,” the brothers wrote. However, it ended up being Harbour, and we’re pretty pleased with the way he’s portrayed the character throughout the past three seasons.
Harbour is set to host Saturday Night Live during its upcoming season with Camilla Cabello as the live act. The week before, Billie Eilish will kick off the NBC show’s 45th season with Woody Harrelson as host.
More Stranger Things news
Stranger Things fans fell in love with Steve and Robin’s adorable friendship during the third season of the Netflixshow.
Many people wanted them to be a couple until Robin came out to Steve when he professed his love for her.
Recently, Maya Hawke, who plays Robin, said that side story wasn’t initially part of the script.
“Throughout filming, we started to feel like she and (Steve) shouldn’t get together, and that she’s gay,” Hawke said to the Wall Street Journal Magazine. “Even when I go back and watch earlier episodes, it just seems like the most obvious decision ever.”
She said they made the decision midseason to have the character come out.
“The Duffer brothers and I, and Shawn Levy had a lot of conversations throughout shooting and it wasn’t relly until we were shooting episode four and five, I think, that we made the final decision,” she said. “It was kind of a collaborative conversation, and I’m really, really happy with that way that it went.”
Hawke hopes that the scene where she comes out to Steve after he pours his heart out to her inspires others to be themselves.
“Sometimes we can have empathy for people on screen that we wouldn’t normally have empathy for in real life,” she said. “If I can hope for anything it’s that maybe some people fell in love with Robin and that helped them fall in love with girls who love girls and boys who love boys.”
“I loved Robin, and I gave her everything I had, and I tried to make her as human and multidimensional as I could, and I wanted people to love her,” she added. “But honestly when you bring a new character onto a TV show that is already so beloved, it’s very rare that it’s received that well… and I’m so grateful that people fell in love with Robin the way that I did.”
As previously stated, the third season of Stranger Things dropped July 4. Check out a trailer below.
What do you think of Hopper being played by another actor? Sound off in the comments down below!
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