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​David Harbour From 'Stranger Things' Has Got Seriously Hench To Play 'Hellboy'

​David Harbour From 'Stranger Things' Has Got Seriously Hench To Play 'Hellboy'

Stranger Things' Chief Hopper is looking pretty different these days, after getting in shape to play Hellboy in the reboot of the film.

Jess Hardiman

Jess Hardiman

Sure, Millie Bobby Brown gave us one badass Eleven and the shit haircut that Steve sports is a bit of a piss-take but the more you watch of Stranger Things, the more you realise it's actually all about Chief Hopper.

The grumpy, chain-smoking cop is kinda stacked, and looks like if you pissed him off he'd probably knock you out with the flick of a finger. But he's a bit of a gentle giant, so no doubt when actor David Harbour found out he was going to upgrade to someone truly hench, he was buzzing.

In Hellboy: Rise of the Blood Queen, Harbour will replace Ron Perlman in playing the massive half-demon - a far cry from an angry small town cop - and to do that he's had to seriously buff up for the role.

Apparently, he's not exactly known for a sweat sesh in the gym, and it had been a fair while since he last felt properly fit.

"I was a chubby kid growing up," Harbour says in an interview on his trainer's official website. "Straight out of college, I did my first play, which I got pretty in shape for, but I let that go completely.

"So from about the time I was 26 years old, to about now, I haven't really been training at the gym seriously at all."

Now in his 40s, he's the poster boy (sorry, man) for the fact it's never too late to get into shape. But he did need a bit of a hand, enlisting the help of one of the biggest names in the Hollywood training biz, Don Saladino, who has also worked with everyone from Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively to Scarlett Johansson and Liev Schreiber.

Saladino made Harbour undergo a 10-week 'Hellboy Boot Camp', as he needed to get ripped for the role very quickly, which involved kettlebells, medicine balls, machine weights, dumbbells, weighted sleds and more.

via GIPHY

"There is something very special about Don as a person and a trainer," David says in the same interview. "He brings great creativity to the workout regimes, which in the past have usually terrified and bored me. His methods are unique, as well as heavily researched. Not only that, but they are even fun, despite the challenges you are taking on."

Rather you than us, mate - it sounds brutal. But it looks like it definitely succeeded in transforming the small town hero to straight-up superhero, and we can't wait for the film to roll around to see him in action.

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: Entertainment, TV and Film, Celebrity, Stranger Things