David Harbour Reveals He Wasn't the Original Pick for Jim Hopper in Stranger Things

David Harbour got the answer he was looking for when he sat down with the Duffer Brothers on the "Happy Sad Confused" podcast—and it turns out he wasn't their top pick for the role of Jim Hopper in Stranger Things.

During the interview, Harbour himself posed the question to creators Matt and Ross Duffer, asking who had to pass on the part before he was cast as the Chief of Police in the fictional town of Hawkins.

"I would like to know the casting process of Hopper. I'm pretty sure I was second choice, and I don't know who I was second choice to — maybe I was third choice?" Harbour asked, wondering how he ultimately landed the iconic role.

Matt Duffer quickly set the record straight, revealing that Billy Crudup was actually their first choice for the character. "It was Billy Crudup, which is a very different– like, everything happens for a reason, right? So it's like, once it kind of clicks into place. But yeah, Billy Crudup passed. I don't think he was doing much TV at the time," he explained. Crudup went on to star in The Morning Show.

Once Crudup declined, Harbour's path to the role became clear. Ross Duffer described how the casting process unfolded: "And then David just, honestly, he just came in and one of our casting directors thought he could be great for the role. He came and read and he just did one take. We weren't even there, we just saw the tape, and it was just so clear, instantly: this is Hopper. And we just cast him right then and there."

The role has since become one of Harbour's most celebrated performances, earning him widespread recognition as a core member of the Stranger Things ensemble.