{"id":158,"date":"2026-05-18T14:35:54","date_gmt":"2026-05-18T14:35:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=158"},"modified":"2026-05-18T14:35:54","modified_gmt":"2026-05-18T14:35:54","slug":"stranger-things-creators-reveal-david-harbour-was-second-choice-to-billy-crudup-for-hopper-role-everything-happens-for-a-reason","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=158","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Stranger Things\u2019 Creators Reveal David Harbour Was \u2018Second Choice\u2019 to Billy Crudup for Hopper Role: \u2018Everything Happens for a Reason\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n<\/p>\n
\n

\n\t\u201cStranger Things\u201d could have been a whole different show if creators Matt and Ross Duffer had gotten their original casting choice for Chief Jim Hopper \u2014 and it\u2019s not Josh Brolin.<\/p>\n

Read more Broadway\u2019s Bobby Darin Musical \u2018Just In Time\u2019 Recoups $12.5 Million Investment<\/a><\/p>\n

\nDuring an interview with \u201cHappy Sad Confused\u201d host Josh Horowitz posted Monday, the Duffers are asked to reveal who their \u201cfirst choice\u201d was for Hopper on the Netflix series. David Harbour himself was the one to ask them in a pre-recorded question shared by Horowitz.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cHello, Duffer Brothers,\u201d Harbour said. \u201cI would like to know the casting process of Hopper. I\u2019m pretty sure I was second choice, and I don\u2019t know who I was second choice to \u2014 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tHorowitz then guessed the first-pick actor to play Hawkins\u2019 Chief of Police was Josh Brolin, based on the Duffers\u2019 clue that it was one of Harbour\u2019s friends.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cNo, no, no, no, no no,\u201d Matt Duffer said. \u201cNo, it was Billy Crudup, which is a very different\u2013 like, everything happens for a reason, right? So it\u2019s like, once it kind of clicks into place. But yeah, Billy Crudup passed. I don\u2019t think he was doing much TV at the time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Rome MIA Market Launches New Animation Series Gap Financing Strand<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\tWhile Crudup is now starring on Apple TV\u2019s \u201cThe Morning Show\u201d alongside Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon, he wasn\u2019t a TV actor at the time \u2014 much to Harbour\u2019s benefit.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cAnd then David just, honestly, he just came in and one of our casting directors thought he could be great for the role,\u201d Ross Duffer said. \u201cHe came and read and he just did one take. We weren\u2019t 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tHarbour played Chief Jim Hopper on all five seasons of the now-ended \u201cStranger Things,\u201d starring alongside Winona Ryder as Joyce Byers and Millie Bobby Brown as his adoptive daughter, Eleven.<\/p>\n

Read more Newly Expanded Elton John Impact Awards Honoring LGBTQ Trailblazers and Allies Unveiled: Recipients Include Chappell Roan, Laverne Cox, Melissa Etheridge<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“Stranger Things” nearly starred Billy Crudup as Hopper instead of David Harbour.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":157,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[54],"tags":[191,192,193],"class_list":["post-158","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tv","tag-billy-crudup","tag-david-harbour","tag-stranger-things"],"yoast_head":"\n\u2018Stranger Things\u2019 Creators Reveal David Harbour Was \u2018Second Choice\u2019 to Billy Crudup for Hopper Role: \u2018Everything Happens for a Reason\u2019 - Relocation Observer<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=158\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u2018Stranger Things\u2019 Creators Reveal David Harbour Was \u2018Second Choice\u2019 to Billy Crudup for Hopper Role: \u2018Everything Happens for a Reason\u2019 - Relocation Observer\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\""Stranger Things" nearly starred Billy Crudup as Hopper instead of David Harbour.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=158\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Relocation Observer\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-18T14:35:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/b15fc94d8141bad46c7651c53a6f4734.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"563\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=158#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=158\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/2243ff062b31c5195cd0d9f83884e83e\"},\"headline\":\"\u2018Stranger Things\u2019 Creators Reveal David Harbour Was \u2018Second Choice\u2019 to Billy Crudup for Hopper Role: \u2018Everything Happens for a Reason\u2019\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-18T14:35:54+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=158\"},\"wordCount\":423,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=158#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/b15fc94d8141bad46c7651c53a6f4734.webp\",\"keywords\":[\"Billy Crudup,\",\"David Harbour,\",\"Stranger Things\"],\"articleSection\":[\"TV\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=158#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=158\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=158\",\"name\":\"\u2018Stranger Things\u2019 Creators Reveal David Harbour Was \u2018Second Choice\u2019 to Billy Crudup for Hopper Role: \u2018Everything Happens for a Reason\u2019 - Relocation Observer\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=158#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=158#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/b15fc94d8141bad46c7651c53a6f4734.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-18T14:35:54+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/2243ff062b31c5195cd0d9f83884e83e\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=158#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=158\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=158#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/b15fc94d8141bad46c7651c53a6f4734.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/b15fc94d8141bad46c7651c53a6f4734.webp\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":563},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=158#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"\u2018Stranger Things\u2019 Creators Reveal David Harbour Was \u2018Second Choice\u2019 to Billy Crudup for Hopper Role: \u2018Everything Happens for a Reason\u2019\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Relocation Observer\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/2243ff062b31c5195cd0d9f83884e83e\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"\u2018Stranger Things\u2019 Creators Reveal David Harbour Was \u2018Second Choice\u2019 to Billy Crudup for Hopper Role: \u2018Everything Happens for a Reason\u2019 - Relocation Observer","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=158","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"\u2018Stranger Things\u2019 Creators Reveal David Harbour Was \u2018Second Choice\u2019 to Billy Crudup for Hopper Role: \u2018Everything Happens for a Reason\u2019 - Relocation Observer","og_description":"\"Stranger Things\" nearly starred Billy Crudup as Hopper instead of David Harbour.","og_url":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=158","og_site_name":"Relocation Observer","article_published_time":"2026-05-18T14:35:54+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1000,"height":563,"url":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/b15fc94d8141bad46c7651c53a6f4734.webp","type":"image\/webp"}],"author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=158#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=158"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/#\/schema\/person\/2243ff062b31c5195cd0d9f83884e83e"},"headline":"\u2018Stranger Things\u2019 Creators Reveal David Harbour Was \u2018Second Choice\u2019 to Billy Crudup for Hopper Role: \u2018Everything Happens for a Reason\u2019","datePublished":"2026-05-18T14:35:54+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=158"},"wordCount":423,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=158#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/b15fc94d8141bad46c7651c53a6f4734.webp","keywords":["Billy Crudup,","David Harbour,","Stranger Things"],"articleSection":["TV"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=158#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=158","url":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=158","name":"\u2018Stranger Things\u2019 Creators Reveal David Harbour Was \u2018Second Choice\u2019 to Billy Crudup for Hopper Role: \u2018Everything Happens for a Reason\u2019 - Relocation Observer","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=158#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=158#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/b15fc94d8141bad46c7651c53a6f4734.webp","datePublished":"2026-05-18T14:35:54+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/#\/schema\/person\/2243ff062b31c5195cd0d9f83884e83e"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=158#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=158"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=158#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/b15fc94d8141bad46c7651c53a6f4734.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/b15fc94d8141bad46c7651c53a6f4734.webp","width":1000,"height":563},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=158#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"\u2018Stranger Things\u2019 Creators Reveal David Harbour Was \u2018Second Choice\u2019 to Billy Crudup for Hopper Role: \u2018Everything Happens for a Reason\u2019"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/","name":"Relocation Observer","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/#\/schema\/person\/2243ff062b31c5195cd0d9f83884e83e","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/relocationobserver.com"],"url":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/158","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=158"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/158\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/157"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=158"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=158"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=158"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}