You Play the Same Beat

David Harbour has finished production on the fifth and final season of Netflix‘s “Stranger Things,” marking the end of a nearly 10-year journey as Hawkins Police Department chief Jim Hopper. How does the actor feel about it? He’s relieved, it appears. Speaking to his “Black Widow” co-star Scarlett Johansson for Interview magazine, Harbour said he was more than ready for a new challenge come the end of “Stranger Things.”

“When I started I loved it so much,” Harbour said. “Buddies of mine who’d done TV shows for many years said, ‘By season three or four you’ll be running.’ And I was like, ‘Never! I love all these guys so much.’ And then you get to a certain point where you’re like, ‘How much more story is there?’ You’re having to play a lot of the same beat, and there’s a feeling where you’re like, ‘I want to take a risk. I want to do something that people haven’t seen me do before.’ So yeah, after 10 years, it’s like, ‘Okay.’”

Harbour has been vocal for a few years now about looking forward to the end of “Stranger Things.” The actor told Insider in 2023 that he was planning to shift exclusively to movies following the end of his beloved TV run as Hopper. Harbour returned to the big screen this summer as Marvel’s Red Guardian in “Thunderbolts,” a role he is set to play again in “Avengers: Doomsday.” He’s also filming a sequel to his Christmas action movie “Violent Night.”

“I want to make original movies that go to the movie theaters,” Harbour said at the time about his career desire. “It’s a funny position I’m in, which I never thought I would be in. The first year of ‘Stranger Things,’ I remember having a discussion with a publicist and her saying, ‘Maybe you don’t want to be associated with the show so much,’ and I was like, ‘Why? I love this show. I love the character.’ And I do love the show. And I do love the character. But I don’t…