David Harbour was cautioned about being typecast for ‘Stranger Things’ role

The actor's publicist had warned him about his character Jim Hopper just after the first season became huge.

Los Angeles: Hollywood star David Harbour says he loves his “Stranger Things” role but he does not want his career to be defined by that one character.

The actor, who plays Jim Hopper, the chief of police in Hawkins, Indiana, in the Netflix horror drama, said his publicist had warned him about the character just after the first season became huge.

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“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,’” Harbour told news portal Insider.

“And I do love the show. And I do love the character. But I don’t want to be just that character. I don’t want to be just that guy.” The 48-year-old actor, who has since ventured out in different projects, most notably Marvel’s “Black Widow”, gave the example of George Clooney, who left medical drama ‘ER’ at the peak of its popularity. “Now we just see him as George Clooney. But there was a time when it was, ‘The guy from ‘ER’ is doing a movie with Nicole Kidman.’ … I think about that a lot. It’s a funny position I’m in, which I never thought I would be in,” he said.

“I’m trying to navigate some of that, and it’s tricky because you don’t want to s*** on the people that love you for this thing that you did that you also love. But at the same time, you kind of want to leave the nest. I got more in me. I got different stuff in me, and I want you guys to see that. I don’t want people yelling ‘Hopper’ on the street every five minutes the rest of my life.”

Harbour’s recent outings beyond “Stranger Things” include dark comedy “Violent Night”, “No Sudden Move” and he will next star in Marvel’s “Thunderbolts”.