David Harbour Compares 'Hellboy' To 'Hamlet' And Promises A Rich Story

David Harbour is set to reprise his role as Sheriff Jim Hopper as Stranger Things season two nears its October 27 release date, but it’s the actor’s donning of a trenchcoat and a few pounds of makeup in the reboot of Hellboy that could really cement him as a star.

At first, it didn’t seem like Hellboy even had to be remade after Ron Perlman and Guillermo del Toro’s first two movies satisfied fans with their PG-13 outings. Now, a proper R-rated movie is coming, Harbour looks just like Perlman, and it seems like he has an interesting take on the character. Speaking with The Independent, Harbour says he’s approaching the character of Hellboy like Hamlet.

“On a surface level, he’s an adopted kid from hell. He was meant to bring about the apocalypse. Yet he just wants to be a good guy and fight evil. But he has this destiny. That struggle is very Hamlet-esque, even having tones of Coriolanus, where you have this guy who cannot understand his own true nature. Those levels of complexity, if we can bring that to this movie, which we’re trying to do, I think will be really rich.”

Harbour explained that even with his deep and dark inspirations, he’s still here to goof off and chomp cigars while blasting baddies: “We still have all that fun and silliness you expect with a comic book story. But, as an actor, I want to explore human beings, their psychology. I love outcasts, people from the bottom, because I can relate to them. I myself have felt that way.”

To get all Simpsons-Comic Book Guy: Well, actually, Hellboy is only half-human, so you’re also exploring demons and their psychology, David. You got the look, though.