Harbour Says Making Stranger Things Was Scarier Than Facing the Demogorgon
David Harbour thought Stranger Things "would just be another failure in a long string of failures" for him, and it used to give him panic attacks.
The beloved actor talked to Yahoo! Entertainment about his emotions and feelings during the filming of Stranger Things Season 1 which was released in 2016 and took Netflix audience by storm. The actor revealed that though he really loved the script and character, he was sure the Netflix show would fail and no one would watch it.
Such a reaction is quite natural for an actor whose rise to stardom happened after 40.
His previous and quite extensive acting experience showed him that a good script, an interesting concept, and an actor's dedication are not necessarily key to success. Harbour shared that acting had always been his passion. But no matter how much he loved his previous roles, he came to understand that the external success of a project was independent of an actor's hard work.
That's why when a script for Stranger Things pilot caught his attention, Harbour pursued the role of now-fan-favorite police chief Jim Hopper not out of hope for global fame but because he loved the character. The actor compared the chief of Hawkins Police Department to iconic characters he had grown up with like the old roles of Harrison Ford or Gene Hackman.
Nevertheless, filming of Season 1 turned out to be an emotional and scary period for Harbour who revealed that he used to get panic attacks because the show and his acting seemed "terrible" to him.
"I had nights where I would just be in a panic attack thinking 'This is terrible.' Like, 'This is a terrible show. I'm terrible in it. And it's just gonna be humiliating,'" the actor described.
The fact that the crew and budget were very small and that Netflix was apparently not interested in promoting the show didn't help either. Harbour remembered how one of his friends told him that he hadn't seen a single ad for Stranger Things in NYC, so they thought Netflix hated the show and was just ignoring it. However, despite all doubts, Stranger Things has become a huge hit with enormous viewership. The actor said this unexpected success felt extremely satisfying because he knew there hasn't been a heavy promotion for the show which meant viewers discovered and loved it on their own.