David Harbour Said He Was Told He Was ‘Too Fat’ to Play ‘The Blob’ in a ‘Wolverine’ Movie
Before landing his high-profile roles in Black Widow and Stranger Things, David Harbour auditioned for X-Men Origins: Wolverine. The actor hoped to get the part of The Blob. But surprisingly, he was told he might be “too fat” to play the Marvel character.
David Harbour auditioned for the 2009 ‘X-Men’ movie
David Harbour is famous for his roles as Jim Hopper in Netflix’s Stranger Things, Alexei Shostakov/The Red Guardian in Marvel’s Black Widow, and the titular superhero in 2019’s Hellboy. He began his acting career in the late ’90s and early 2000s, appearing in popular projects like Brokeback Mountain, War of the Worlds, and Quantum of Solace. In 2008, before he became a Hollywood A-lister, Harbour was approached for a role in X-Men Origins: Wolverine.
“I auditioned for one of the Wolverine movies, and I bumped into one of the casting directors on the lot, and she was really sweet, and she was like, ‘Oh my god, David Harbour, you’re in town! I have the perfect role for you,’” Harbour explained in a 2017 interview with TheWrap. “I was like, ‘Great, I need to work. What do you got?’ She’s like ‘The Blob’!”
The Stranger Things star thought it was funny that the agent thought of him as a fit for The Blob. But she assured him the role was fantastic and needed someone big and broad to carry it off.
“She was like, ‘Yeah, it’s like an X-Men; he’s like big, fat, and controls gravity,’” Harbour recalled. “And I was like, ‘OK, wow, that’s flattering.’ And she was like, ‘No, no, it’s not that you’re fat; it’s just that we need a big guy to wear the suit.’”
David Harbour was told he was ‘too fat’ to play The Blob
Harbour was thrilled to audition for The Blob in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. And when he finally went in to read for the part, he joked with casting executives by lifting his shirt, grabbing his belly, and saying, “I got your Blob right here!”
But according to Harbour, the agents were taken aback by what they saw. And the stunt may have been what cost him the role.
“I just made a stupid joke, and then they called me and the director. We met at a hotel, and he was like, ‘David, look, you’re wonderful — we really think you’re just a great actor. We’re just concerned … we’re really concerned,’” Harbour told TheWrap.
“I was like, ‘Why, what’s your concern? I’m good to go. I’m available — let’s do this!’” he continued.” And they were like, ‘No, it’s just, you lifted up your shirt, and we saw the … we’re just a little worried about your health.’”
Harbour was admittedly shocked. And he couldn’t believe he was body-shamed for a role that required a fatsuit.
“I was like, ‘Wait a minute, dude, pause for one second,’” Harbour recalled. “‘You are telling me I’m too fat to play The Blob? That’s awesome. I have to get the f*** back to New York.’ That’s my audition. So I didn’t get The Blob.”
The part went to actor Kevin Durand. And in 2016’s X-Men Apocalypse, “Giant” Gustav Claude Ouimet took the role.
The ‘Stranger Things’ star loves the idea of showing ‘real bodies’ on screen
Harbour has become a fan favorite as Jim Hopper in Stranger Things. And in a 2018 chat with CNET, he acknowledged all the attention he gets for his “dad bod” — a term Merriam-Webster defined on Twitter over a gif of Harbour’s Sheriff Hopper dancing. And he admitted he’s proud of it.
“I sort of love it, and the reason why I love it is actually very serious,” Harbour said. “I do think that, in a certain way, I’ve become a bit of a sex symbol of our time.
“There are articles about people digging Hopper,” he added. “But I’m also like a little big and a little chubby. I love the idea of real bodies on television. And I love the idea of making real people feel beautiful and loved.”
