David Harbor, the interpreter of Hopper, said he lost almost a third of his weight for season 4 of Stranger Things. And he thinks he’ll “never do that again.”
David Harbour, who plays Sheriff Jim Hopper, opened up about his impressive weight loss in Season 4 of Stranger Things and said he doesn’t want to go through such a physical transformation again. To stick to the character, locked up for six months in a Russian prison camp, he had to lose almost a third of his weight!
Quick reminder: at the end of season 3, which aired in July 2019, Hopper was captured by the Russians and taken to a prison camp on the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia after the explosion of the secret Russian laboratory in the shopping center of Starcourt. An explosion so impressive that Joyce (Winona Ryder) and all the other characters thought he was dead.
Going from a healthy sheriff to a bread-and-porridge-eating prisoner meant David Harbor had to lose weight for the new season of the Netflix series. The actor told QG his impressive transformation:
I’ve lost around 36kg since season 3 – I was around 122kg [alors]and when we shot season 4, I was around 86 kg
To do this, the actor claims to have lost weight in about eight months thanks to intermittent fasting and Pilates. “I don’t think I will do this again“, Harbor continued.
The interpreter of Hopper has already spoken of his popularity with fans and the physical change of his character. In an interview with CNET Magazine in 2018, he commented on a tweet from Merriam Webster (the equivalent of Larousse in France) linked to the expression “dad bod” (which designates the small belly of men) accompanied by a clip of Hopper dancing.
“I got a funny relationship with that dad bod thing“, Harbor told CNET.”I kind of love him and the reason why I love him is actually very serious. I think in a way I’ve become a bit of a sex symbol of our times.And to continue:There are articles about people researching Hopper. But I’m also a little chubby. I love the idea of real bodies on TV. And I love the idea of making real people feel beautiful and loved.“
In his interview with GQ, the actor said he’s gained weight for his next Santa Claus film, Violent Night, which is slated for release in France at the end of November.
Stranger Things accused of grossophobia
It seems, however, that Hopper’s weight loss has created controversy with some Stranger Things fans. They are not happy with this creative decision and feel that the series shows grossophobia. Like this Youtuber who denounces the treatment of the character:
“Here’s my take on Stranger Things 4: Listen, it’s good that David Harbor got back into shape. If he’s happy, that’s what matters. But for the show to go on and make like 5 jokes in a row about what was an iconic depiction of a round, burly guy was rubbish.“
What bothers fans here is not so much Hopper’s weight loss but the many hints of his new figure implying that he’s hot now and therefore previously unattractive with its curves.
Since David Harbor gained a few pounds for his role in Violent Night and since season 5 of Stranger Things is supposed to take a leap in time, we will see by then if Hopper has regained his silhouette of the first seasons and if he is in a relationship with Joyce as implied in volume 2 with the exchange of their first kiss .