There are several major comic book movie reboots on the horizon over the next few years, and Hellboy arguably stands out as one of the more intriguing of the bunch. Under the direction of The Descent's Neil Marshall, Stranger Things actor David Harbour is set to inherit the role from Ron Perlman and take the demonic anti-hero in a brand new direction. Despite the excitement, it doesn't sound like it was a natural process, and Harbour recently admitted that the physicality of Hellboy took a serious toll on him during production in a way that might not have been an issue in the younger years of his life. Harbour explained:
It was the hardest shoot I've ever done, primarily because there are just so many stunts in it. It's a very action-packed movie. There's a lot of story, too, and a lot of big scenes, but there's a lot of action. There's a lot of me running around, jumping and turning, and punching stuff. It's crazy! I'm 42, and the fact that no one asked me to do this in my 20s is so insulting. Why did I have to become a super-monster in my 40s?! My bones are not the same as they used to be. It was very hard, in that way, but it's also really thrilling 'cause I get to carve out an entirely new mythos to this guy and I get to play on this big palette of witches and giants and demons.
From the moment we got our first look at David Harbour, it was clear that he wasn't messing around in his new role. The guy seriously bulked up to portray Hellboy, and his non-prosthetic, non-CGI muscles are nothing to scoff at. But getting in great shape still didn't stop the constant fight scenes and stunt work from beating him up throughout the shoot. He played physical roles earlier in his career, but the irony of getting to play a muscle-bound hero at a much older age doesn't appear lost on him
The intense physicality that David Harbour claims to have brought to Hellboy is made even more impressive when we consider the fact that the 42-year-old actor is especially known for a more rugged body type than pure muscle. After all, Harbour is king of the Sheriff Hopper "Dad Bod" (something that he promises to get back before Stranger Things Season 3), so that likely added yet another layer of difficulty to the fitness regimen and stuntwork offered by Neil Marshall's reboot.
Of course, it's clear that David Harbour has also had fun with his time on the set of Hellboy. Despite the pain and soreness that the highly-physical role has caused for the 42-year-old actor, his remarks to Collider about working on the film with Neil Marshall also indicate that he enjoyed the process and the sandbox that he was allowed to work in. He has worked in fantasy and science-fiction before with projects like Stranger Things and even Suicide Squad, but Hellboy is an entirely new realm full of fantastical creatures and beings. Now we just have to wait until 2019 to see it come to life.
David Harbour will debut as Hellboy when Neil Marshall's take on the character premieres in theaters on January 11, 2019. Looking ahead to the rest of this year, check out our 2018 movie premiere guide.
