David Harbour recently reflected on the poor critical and commercial reception of his first major on-screen role, Hellboy — Neil Marshall's reboot of the 2004 hit film.
Best known for playing chief of police Jim Hopper in Netflix's science-fiction horror drama Stranger Things, Harbour sat down with GQ to talk about the show's season 4 finale as well as his turn as Hellboy's demonic detective, but as a reboot of Guillermo del Toro's adaptations — hugely popular in their own right — it had a lot to live up to.
Ultimately, it just couldn't stick the landing, tanking at the box office while being panned by critics. IGN's review called it a "thin, clumsy, and charmless attempt at rebooting a beloved franchise."
Looking back on the experience, Harbour said he realized that he had been naive about fan expectations for the character.
"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," he said. "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."
Funnily enough, he added that once he figured the film was going to bomb, he actually called Ryan Reynolds to ask for advice on how to survive superhero flops. Having starred in the infamous Green Lantern film, Harbour saw Reynolds as the one most apt to help console him as the negative reviews poured in.
"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 f*ck 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, for his part, was sweet about it."
Since then, both have enjoyed individual renaissance periods. Reynolds is the star of fan-favorite Deadpool series films and Harbour has seen his fair share of success from starring in Stranger Things, which recently became Netflix's second show to have crossed 1 billion hours viewed.
As for whether Hellboy will get another shot at box office glory, we'll just have to see.
Diego Ramos Bechara is a Freelance Writer for IGN, and he's a fan of all things Star Wars, Rockstar, Naughty Dog and Batman. You can follow him on Twitter @DRamosBechara.