'Hellboy' Star David Harbour Explains How His Approach Is Different Than Ron Perlman's
The cast of the Hellboy reboot slowly continues to grow (the movie added Deadpool's Ed Skrein in a highly questionable decision yesterday), but it's time to hear some more from the man who's playing the red-skinned World Destroyer himself, Stranger Things actor David Harbour.
In a new interview, Harbour explains how his take on the character differs from the masculine approach of original Hellboy star Ron Perlman. And will this movie be an origin story? Find out by reading the latest David Harbour Hellboy quotes below.
In a recent episode of MTV's Happy Sad Confused podcast (via JoBlo), Harbour talked about stepping into the horns of Hellboy and how his version will be different from Perlman's:
"There are things I'm going to do that are different than that. Hellboy is the same character from the comics, and from what Ron did. There are certain things that are the same thing. There's a different approach. Ron sort of embraces this machismo in himself and in Hellboy, that kind of is this thing, and I really like it and I think it's super fun and it's a super fun performance, but I think Hellboy has a certain psycho dynamic where occasionally he has to prove that he's the lion and has to roar, but I think he struggles with his own masculinity. But I don't think he needs that as much as maybe those other movies did. I have a bit of a different take on his capability or his slickness. I sort of think that for me he's a little less skilled at constructing that persona."
From my understanding, Harbour's take sounds like it aligns pretty well with the version of the character fans know from the comics. Hellboy creator Mike Mignola once said that he based Hellboy on his dad, a Korean War veteran who had sort of a "been there, done that" attitude. Contrasted with Guillermo del Toro's interpretation, which was more of a lovesick teenager, Neil Marshall's Hellboy sounds like he'll be more of a self-reflecting, working class demon hunter.
When asked if the movie would be an origin story, Harbour thankfully explained that it will begin right in the middle of the action and may fill in some history along the way, comparing it to the structure of Raiders of the Lost Ark:
"There is some (explanation of Hellboy), but it's not really an origin story movie. We kind of pick up the movie like we're running and gunning. We do have a little bit of stuff where we show stuff, but it really is a story and you just drop in with this guy. So in a way, I feel like that's kind of what Indiana Jones was. You start with him stealing the idol, but also you do go back to the university and you understand he's an archaeologist, you understand these things, but this is just a guy who goes and steals idols and fights Nazis and wants to steal the Arc of the Covenant. But you never go back when he's a kid and you're like, 'How did he become Indiana Jones?' It's like no, we accept that this is Indiana Jones and I think that's kind of what our story does too. You accept that there's this half-demon guy running around the world and being a paranormal investigator and solving crimes and also dealing with his own issues at the same time."
(I'll assume Harbour is only talking about Raiders of the Lost Ark and forgetting about the prologue in Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade, which ranks as one of the best cinematic origin stories ever put to film.)
Ian McShane, Milla Jovovich, Sasha Lane, and Ed Skrein co-star in the film, which begins shooting next month and doesn't yet have an official release date.