The magic of David Harbour as an actor is his ability to blend toughness and vulnerability, cheekiness and authenticity, physical prowess and an every-man aesthetic.
It’s that unusual interplay of assets that made him a star as police chief Jim Hopper on Netflix’s “Stranger Things” and now an intriguing new character in the upcoming Marvel film “Black Widow,” out in movie theaters July 9. He plays Alexei Shostakov, a Russian “Captain America” equivalent nicknamed Red Guardian. Most of the film, he is in full middle-aged, paunch form wearing a red and grey suit, a father figure to “Black Widow” Avenger Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) and spy Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh).
The film was supposed to come out last year, but the pandemic delayed its release. Fortunately, people are starting to come back to the theaters, as evidenced by the success of “A Quiet Place 2″ and “F9.” Industry pundits are expecting strong results from this latest Marvel movie as well. (The film will also be available for $29.99 on the Disney+ streaming service.)
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution recently spoke with Harbour via Zoom. Here are excerpts:
That is quite a beard you wear in the movie. Is it au naturel?
Harbour: Most of the movie. There is one reshoot we did where it’s me yelling out of a helicopter. One line. “Let’s go!” That was a full fake beard. But the rest of the movie is my real beard. No enhancement. That disgusting ratty beard.
You were promoting this movie before the pandemic when you thought it was coming out last year. Have your feelings about the film changed since then?
Harbour: It’s kind of joyous. There was discussion early on to release it just on Disney+. I was kind of into that. I said, ‘Let’s get the movie out.’ They said, ‘No. Let’s wait until movie theaters come back.’ I said, ‘Oh, come on.’ I realize now that they’re very right. I’m so happy you have a big movie like that just as the world is starting to open up because Marvel movies have become this thing over the past last 10 years. They are a joyous way to come together and have this fantasy experience together. There is such a big fan base for them. It’s almost like they’re becoming part of our mythology.
It has to be seen on a big screen. I had to watch on a tiny laptop. I’m not getting the full experience.
Harbour: Me too! I can’t wait to see it in a theater myself and see it on a big screen.
Credit: MARVEL
Credit: MARVEL
What did you like about playing the Red Guardian?
Harbour: There was hardly anything I didn’t like. It’s hard to find anything I had trouble with except for doing stunts because I’m terrible at them and I get hurt. I hurt myself a lot. But when they show you the finished product, you’re like, ‘Wow! That’s fantastic!’ In terms of Alexei, he’s just so human. There are so many contradictions. Right from the beginning of the movie, he does this thing that’s incredibly brutal in a certain way and takes the rest of the movie for you to go like, ‘This guy?’ You warm to him. He does have this humor, which comes out of the fact he is so oblivious to his own narcissism. He’s such a idiot. There are people in your life who are like, ‘Come on! Get it! You’re not paying attention!’ He doesn’t get it.
A therapist would go crazy trying to figure him out.
Harbour: He’s the perfect specimen. He’s got a lot to work out like guilt, shame and remorse. He’d be great in therapy!
You’ve done a lot of stunt work in the past. Was this the toughest of them all? What injuries did you have from this movie?
Harbour: By far, this was the toughest I’ve ever done. In the beginning, I was just so big, like 270, 280 pounds. So my knees were really shot. There was a lot of running around and climbing that happens in the prison, which was the first thing we shot. He has this super strength where he can jump. They have me on wires. That stuff was hard. But it wasn’t as hard as a sequence in the beginning. Really simple stuff. I tore a hamstring. Thankfully, it was the last night of the whole sequence. I was just running. I’m just boogying and I felt this pop. That sucked. I was a little bit busted, but I didn’t break my legs or anything.
“Stranger Things” involves stunt work, too, right?
Harbour: We’ve done some crazy stuff this season. I can’t wait for you guys to see it.
You shot some of that before the pandemic.
Harbour: We shot some of it but we’ve been shooting more since last September. The Duffers [the creators of “Stranger Things”] have seen I’ve been cast in these Marvel movies. They’re like, ‘If you can do it there, you can do it here!’ I’m like, ‘Thanks a lot guys! How about more coffee and contemplation! More donuts! Come on!’
Hopper gets captured by the Russians. So many Russians! You probably never imagined you’d play two characters so tied to Russia. And you told Jimmy Kimmel that you deliberately wanted two different looks. So Hopper is bald. The Red Guardian has a massive beard.
Harbour: It was a horrible coincidence. I had to lose a lot of weight for Hopper. I really did want to differentiate them. They are both big genre things with the overlapping audiences so I wanted to look very different.
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