Before Stranger Things exploded onto the scene, Jim Hopper actor David Harbour thought the series was doomed for failure.

We're now three seasons into the Netflix sci-fi show and Harbour is a household name – but what made him so pessimistic before its release in the summer of 2016?

Appearing on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert recently, the star revealed all.

Netflix

Related: Stranger Things season 4 reportedly adding four new characters



"I was sure it was gonna be a complete disaster and a big failure before it came out," he said, before joking, "I remember when we were shooting, too, we would all sit around talking about how terrible it was gonna be, mainly because of my performance.

"I thought I was tanking the whole show. And then, before it came out, you normally see things on buses. I live in New York, I'm wandering around, buses, phone booths, there's ads for shows. Not a single ad."

Harbour went on to recall how a friend said Netflix must've been trying to "bury" the series, before adding: "And then the show came out and it was an overnight zeitgeist success."

The Hellboy star further reflected: "I really thought it was gonna be nothing and then people sort of embraced it and it became this grassroots event and it's very gratifying."



We love you, Chief Hopper (please come back).

Stranger Things seasons 1-3 are now streaming on Netflix.

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