Stranger Things actor David Harbor has opened up about his dramatic season four slimming down on the show, revealing he lost more than 34kg to portray his character’s physical transformation.
Harbour, 47, plays Jim Hopper in the hit Netflix sci-fi series. In a new Instagram post, the actor revealed some of the hard work behind his body transformation, explaining that he worked with a trainer for an initial eight months to lose weight and then another year to maintain his new body during the pandemic
“All told, it’s been a challenging and exciting journey, changing diet and exercise plans (or lack thereof),” she wrote, explaining that she’ll be doing an Instagram Live later this week to answer the fan questions about his fitness regimen.
He also shared the result of all his efforts: a shirtless photo from the first day of filming, with black X-marks on his torso to add to his character’s CGI scars. Harbor said she weighed a little over 120kg while filming the show’s third season and had dropped to 86kg by the time filming of the fourth season began.
But he said his body was feeling the weight after he had to put it back on for his next role – playing Father Christmas in an upcoming Christmas film.
“I’ve recently ballooned up again to play jolly St Nick in a film I can’t wait for you to see this holiday season, so I’m fighting my way to a good weight wherever Hopper ends up in the fifth season”. He wrote
“All this up and down is not good for the body, and I’ll have to give it up soon, but it’s such a fun part of the job to live in a different version of your skin for a while.”
Strange things has been a runaway success for Netflix, with the fourth season of the supernatural series recently surpassing the billion-hour mark, a feat only the popular Korean drama has achieved. Squid Game had previously managed the streaming service.
And the series’ popularity extends far beyond Netflix: British singer Kate Bush’s 1985 classic Run up that hill has become a stunning global hit single, 37 years after its release, thanks to its prominent use in the series. It is currently at number one on the ARIA Singles Chart for a fifth week.