Before David Harbour locked in as Chief Jim Hopper on “Stranger Things,” the Duffer Brothers said Billy Crudup was the role’s earlier casting step—Crudup passed, then Harbour’s tape immediately convinced them Hopper was the one.
David Harbour didn’t get a simple answer when he asked how he landed the role of Chief Jim Hopper. In a video question delivered to the hosts of Happy Sad Confused, the actor pressed creators Matt Duffer and Ross Duffer on the casting process and who had turned the part down before him.
“I’m pretty sure I was second choice, and I don’t know who I was second choice to,” Harbour said. “Maybe I was third choice? But would you please answer the question of how I came to be cast as Chief Hopper, and who had to say no to allow me to do that wonderful, incredible role.”
The back-and-forth didn’t end with Harbour guessing names. When podcast host Josh Horowitz suggested it might have been Josh Brolin—based on the idea that Brolin is friends with Harbour—Matt Duffer cut straight through the speculation.
“No, 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.”
Crudup’s career path after that wasn’t far away. As mentioned in the interview. Crudup is now a series regular on Apple TV’s The Morning Show. for which he earned two Emmy wins. A year after Stranger Things first premiered. Crudup also featured alongside Naomi Watts in Netflix’s short-lived psychological thriller series Gypsy.
Once Billy Crudup passed, the chain of events tightened fast. Ross Duffer described how Harbour was brought in and how quickly the decision formed.
“And then David just — honestly — he just came in and one of our casting directors thought he could be great for the role. ” Ross Duffer said. “But 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 Harbour went on to play became central to Stranger Things’ world. Chief Jim Hopper is a key figure in the series’ fictitious town of Hawkins. Indiana. and the twice Emmy-nominated actor eventually served as a surrogate father to Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown). Hopper also helped unravel the central sci-fi mystery of the Upside Down.
That casting moment landed on a series that started in 2016 and didn’t just find an audience—it became a cultural staple. Stranger Things ran for five seasons, concluding in 2025, and has won a dozen Emmys. It will be eligible to contend again this year.
The franchise momentum didn’t stop with the main show, either. It spawned an animated spinoff, Stranger Things: Tales from ’85, recently renewed for Season 2. A Broadway prequel show was also taped for future feature release.
Some roles take time to shape. Chief Hopper, at least in the Duffer Brothers’ telling, snapped into place the moment the tape landed—after one door closed, and another opened quickly enough that it felt, in their words, like everything had already aligned.
Stranger Things Duffer Brothers David Harbour Chief Jim Hopper Billy Crudup casting Happy Sad Confused Millie Bobby Brown Upside Down