David Harbour has many claims to fame in his career as an actor of all seasons. The man’s racked up credits that have seen him playing figures in both the DC and Marvel universes, as well as the fan-favorite Sheriff Jim Hopper in the Netflix series Stranger Things. Even in his new movie release Violent Night, Harbour can now claim the role of Santa Claus on his resume.
As if that wasn’t impressive enough, many people may have forgotten the fact that early in his film acting career, David Harbour actually landed a role in the James Bond movies. I certainly didn’t, which allowed me to ask him about how he landed the role of smarmy CIA section chief Gregg Beam in 2008’s Quantum of Solace. Here’s what Harbour had to say on the matter to CinemaBlend during the press day for Violent Night:
It’s because Marc Forster is an insane person. I love him, and I remember when he cast that movie. I met him, I read, and he just loved it. I had this weird mustache, and he just loved me.
David Harbour’s part in Quantum of Solace was one of a grayer shade of morality. Brokering a deal between the CIA and villainous eco-industrialist Dominic Greene (Mathieu Amalric), Gregg Beam saw aiding the main antagonist as the cost of doing business. But at the same time, he doesn’t sell out Felix Leiter for failing to identify James Bond as a party of interference. Though he’s only in the film for a handful of scenes, the experience was one that Harbour clearly hasn’t forgotten.
At this point in his career, David Harbour had mostly been playing parts on TV, which saw him appear on various Law & Order series at the turn of the millennium. While his breakout role in Stranger Things wouldn’t arrive for another decade, that all owed to the actor jumping into anything he could land. Luckily for him, that meant a role in the second film of Daniel Craig’s James Bond run.
That good fortune wasn’t exactly reflected by those that the young Harbour would encounter on the set of the 22nd James Bond title. As if there wasn’t enough to worry about, thanks to the fact that Quantum of Solace started production without a full script, Marc Forster’s off-the-beaten-path approach was giving people concerns. David Harbour explained why as he continued his story about making Bond history:
I was like an early 30s weirdo, wasn’t really working that much, and he just loved me. I showed up on set, and I think, I always remember producers and everybody just biting their nails and being like, ‘He’s a little young.’ They didn’t like the casting at all, but Marc is just a brilliant, fun weird guy. He wanted to hire somebody like me, and it was very affirming. So it was a really nice thing to do to a young actor at that time.
Arguably one of the most underrated 007 movies in the canon, especially during Daniel Craig’s tenure, Quantum of Solace certainly landed a winner when casting David Harbour. His chemistry with Jeffrey Wright’s returning Felix Leiter would set a precedent for the actor’s very well honed chops of sarcasm and taking charge in any situation. Those skills still come in handy thanks to the continuing adventures of both Sheriff Hopper, as well as Harbour’s role as Red Guardian in Black Widow.
It’s still hard to fathom a time where Daniel Craig was seen as a controversial casting choice as James Bond. And yet, looking at how things wound up once No Time To Die closed off his story, it all turned out for the better. The same could be said for David Harbour, as Marc Forster’s “insane” gamble paid off, even if we never got to see the character again thanks to his disgraced section chief being demoted after the events of Quantum of Solace.
Who knows where David Harbour’s career would have went if he hadn’t landed his James Bond role? It feels like he’d have eventually found his feet, as his career has shown him off as an acting talent that can sell any world he steps into.
It’s also what made him such a good fit for the new film from Universal Pictures, Violent Night, which you can catch in theaters starting this weekend. Those looking to revisit his role in Quantum of Solace can do so provided you have an active Netflix subscription at the time of this writing.
