With so many fans hoping Ron Perlman would once again reprise his role of Hellboy, it was always going to be daunting for David Harbour to tackle the character in the upcoming reboot - even his friends wanted him to stay away.

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Discussing the 2019 reboot, Harbour - who's best known as em>Stranger Things' sheriff, Jim Hopper - told The Hollywood Reporter that his friends attempted to dissuade him from playing the comic book character. "I was approached by some very prominent nerds who I know very well, and I respect their opinions because they're friends of mine, who were like, 'Dude, step away from the Hellboy. Step away.'"

"I can like Michael Keaton's Batman and I can like Christian Bale's Batman," Harbour explained. "I can like Jack Nicolson's Joker and I can like Heath Ledger's Joker. There's other Jokers I don't have to like," the actor continued, seemingly taking a jab at his Suicide Squad co-star, Jared Leto.

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How will Harbour prove to the "prominent nerds" he calls friends that he was right to take on the role? Well, the movie will follow the character's portrayal in Dark Horse Comics closer than Perlman's version did, he explained. "They (the comics) seem much more macabre to me, they seem much more melancholy, they seem much more primal, more struggle, more angst," he said. "And I felt like those other two movies were funnier and brighter and kind of sillier in a way, which was great for what it was. But, I thought to approach this material in a different light and to do something completely different than what they had done. This was something that I couldn't pass up because I love those [Mike] Mignola comics"

Directed by Neil Marshall and starring David Harbour in its title role along with Ian McShane as Trevor Bruttenholm, Milla Jovovich as Nimue, The Blood Queen, Sasha Lane as Alice Monaghan and Penelope Mitchell as Ganeida, Hellboy comes to theaters January 11, 2019.