David Harbour is never one to shy away from a role. Throughout his long career, the actor has played (the rebooted) Hellboy, Suicide Squad’s Dexter Tolliver, Stranger Things’ Jim Hopper, and the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s (MCU) Red Guardian. And now, Harbour is playing Santa in Universal Pictures’ Violent Night.
Unlike other onscreen Santas before him, Harbour’s version isn’t exactly here to spread holiday cheer. Sure, he’s got a whole bag of gifts, but this Santa also has no problem wielding a sledgehammer.
David Harbour Was The ‘First Name That Came Up’ For The Role Of Santa
When Tommy Wirkola was tapped to direct Violent Night, he knew that Harbour would be perfect to play his Santa. “He was the first name that came up, and everyone got excited about that,” the director recalled. “I can’t remember who brought him up but it was one of those moments where you go (snaps fingers) ‘Of course! That makes so much sense!’”
Fortunately for Wirkola, Harbour said yes to the movie almost straight away too. “He read the script and he loved it. He saw the same movie we did and had a lot of great ideas,” Wirkola recalled of the actor.
He also knew that there was a lot of material in the story that Harbour could use to deliver a memorable performance.
“Well, I mean, the Santa when you meet him in the script, he’s kind of in a in a weird spot. He’s a little down and he’s kind of lost faith a little bit in himself and humanity and in Christmas. It’s just consumerism has taken over everything. He is wondering why are we still celebrating Christmas? Who cares? Who cares about that, who cares about me, so he’s in a dark spot? Then it goes to him delivering his presents, and he thinks it is going to be normal Christmas, but then he gets sucked into the story with these terrorists taking over this house,” Wirkola explained.
“So, there was a lot of strings to play on for any actor and a lot of fun places. “
To Play Santa, The Actor Gained Weight And Learned Martial Arts
In transforming for the role, Harbour essentially had to gain back the pound he already shed off for Stranger Things. And yes, it wasn’t so hard to do even if had to learn jujitsu for the movie.
“We'd just do crazy workouts and then go eat poutine,” Harbour told Entertainment Weekly.
And while the actor has combat training, he still doesn’t think that his Santa can mess with Edmund Gwenn’s Santa in the classic Miracle on 34th Street. “There's something about the twinkle in his eye and his stature as a guy of that era that's always somewhat terrified me, so I wouldn't want to go up against him,” Harbour remarked.
That said, he does think that he stands a chance against another onscreen Santa. “I'll take on Billy Bob Thornton's [character in the 2003 crime comedy Bad Santa] any day of the wee,” Harbour jokingly adds. “But [Gwenn], I would not go near him.”
For David Harbour, Playing Sledgehammer-Wielding Santa Was ‘Very Trippy’
Harbour has never played Santa until now and the experience had been “very trippy.” That’s because, in Violent Night, he essentially approaches the iconic character in several ways.
“We see a whole different guy,” the actor explained. “So seeing the saccharine Santa Claus was one end of the experience in the beginning, and then seeing the guy with the man bun every day and blood running down his face was an entirely different joy.”
And while fans may be surprised why Santa appears more physically aggressive here, Harbour assures fans that this will be explained in the movie. “The interesting thing about this movie, is that Santa's journey, we get to see a lot of Santa origin story in a certain way,” the actor teased.
“There's some backstory of Santa that we're going to get into in the movie about why he's able to kick so much a**.”
As for Wirkola, he knows that Harbour’s portrayal of the Big Guy is going to be a hit among moviegoers. “I’m so excited for people to see what he did this role. I didn’t think about it until after making the film that I’m pretty sure it can be intimidating for an actor to do Santa Claus,” he said. “
“It’s obviously a character done so many times, in so many variations, and he’s an iconic figure, and to do something new and fresh and original is hard. I do think though that he really nailed it.” He also said the film “really wears its heart on its sleeve.”
At the same time, Harbour believes Violent Night will appeal to many despite the holiday film being more violent than most. “You will believe in Santa Claus again,” he said. “And you will believe that he's a violent m***********.”
Violent Night releases on December 2, 2022.
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