David Harbour Reflects On 'Hellboy' Flopping And Reaching Out To 'Green Lantern's' Ryan Reynolds For Advice

As an actor, it ain't easy to be attached to a monumental flop, especially when it's your first leading role in a blockbuster film. This was certainly the case for David Harbour, star of the hit Netflix series Stranger Things. 

While talking with GQ recently, Harbor discussed the utter mess rebooting the Hellboy (2019) franchise became while he was riding high off of his breakout role as Jim Hopper on Stranger Things. Harbour was tapped for the role after Ron Perlman walked away from the character he had played successfully for two films, Hellboy (2004) and Hellboy 2: The Golden Army (2008), due to the exit of writer/director Guillermo del Toro, who had helmed the franchise up until that point. Pearlman didn't want to continue without Guillermo's involvement. A move that, in retrospect, was a brilliant decision. 

Harbour said this about taking over the part: 

"It was a very difficult experience because I wanted a lot out of it. I really like [Mike Mignola, Hellboy creator], I like that character. And then immediately when it began, even when it was announced, I realized that people did not want that character reinvented. I was very naive and optimistic about what we were going to do."

Now, directed by Neil Marshall, who had some minor success with Dog Soldiers (2002) and The Descent (2005), the 2019 Hellboy tanked with critics and audiences alike. This left David Harbour to question what might be next for him as an actor going forward. Needing a big name to turn to who had had a similar experience with a failed comic book movie, he, funnily enough, contacted Green Lantern's (2011) Ryan Reynolds, who later made fun of his own failure by referencing the flop in the Deadpool films. 

"I know him a little bit. I called him and I was like, Hey man, I just need to know something. You know Green Lantern? Huge flop for you. What the fuck is that like, because I think I'm going to hit that right now. Am I gonna be okay? Am I gonna survive this?"

Reynolds evidently was "sweet" about it. 

He has nothing to worry about these days, as Stranger Things Season 4 has been so successful it, in fact, crashed Netflix's servers. Navigating the Hollywood landscape certainly can come with some stumbles along the way, and for David Harbour, his career hasn't missed a step since.