‘Hellboy’ Star David Harbour Didn’t Want To Imitate Ron Perlman

Stranger Things star David Harbour is the new Hellboy, fair and square. He took over the reins to the franchise from the fan-favorite Ron Perlman and one thing’s for certain — Harbour doesn’t want to tarnish his predecessor’s legacy in the slightest.

Speaking with Empire, Harbour revealed that he didn’t aim to imitate Perlman’s take on the Mike Mignola-created character. The Hellboy star made sure to point out his take on Anung Un Rama is different than what fans have seen in past movies.

“[Perlman] does something quite extraordinary in those films that is very specific to him, and I did not want to imitate that in any way,” Harbour said. “In our movie Hellboy‘s younger. He’s rougher. He’s much more of a teenager. He’s really struggling with the idea of whether or not he’s a good person.”

In the same Empire article, the magazine released an all-new still from the film, showing the titular character strolling down a chandelier-lit hallway.

Harbour’s comments aren’t the first time we’ve heard there was a huge difference between the character played by the two different actors. Last December, Mignola said Harbour’s take on the horned character was more dramatic.

“[David Harbour’s Hellboy is] a little bit more dramatic,” Mignola says. “There’s a different edge. [Ron Perlman] was very smooth as Hellboy, and there’s a whole different love interest vibe with Ron’s thing. Ron was almost playing this kind of old adolescent. And Harbour plays a grittier Hellboy, and a bit more explosive, emotionally.”

“It’s hard to explain, but it is a very different take,” he continued. “The beauty is, both of them, in their own way, feel like Hellboy. It’s almost like they’re just tipped it in two different directions. There’s something much gnarlier about David’s Hellboy.”

Hellboy stomps into theaters April 12th.

What do you think of what you’ve seen of Harbour’s Hellboy so far? Are there any surprise characters you hope appear in the movie? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below or join the conversation online by hitting me up on Twitter at @AdamBarnhardt!

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