Violent Night is a lot of things all at once, juggling tenors and tones from a long history of Christmas films like Home Alone and Miracle on 34th Street while deploying some brutal action that wouldn't be out of place in a John Wick film. The movie is anchored by David Harbour, who plays a weary Santa who finds a reason to keep fighting, giving him a balance of comedy, action, and drama that fleshes out this version of the holiday icon.
During an interview with CBR ahead of the Dec. 2 theatrical release of Violent Night, David Harbour (Santa) discussed his initial reactions to being pitched "Die Hard but with Santa" as a movie. He dove into what attracts him to the gruff archetype he's perfected in shows like Stranger Things and films like the Marvel Cinematic Universe's Black Widow and how he thinks Santa would fare in a cage match with his other most famous roles.
CBR: So, I've got to ask -- the first time you heard the pitch for Violent Night, what was your response?
David Harbour: I mean, the initial response was, "What are you talking about? This sounds ridiculous." I think they were like, "It's Santa Claus, but he fights a bunch of bad guys and kills a bunch of people." I was like, "Okay, this sounds terrible." Then they were like, "Look, the director [Tommy Wirkola] and David Leitch, the producer, want to talk to you over Zoom before they send you a script." I was like, "All right."
Then I met Tommy... and he's this kind of childlike Norwegian guy who's done a bunch of fantastic movies, and he loves Christmas. I guess, in Norway, they have like reindeer all around, and he just has all this real affinity for that Nordic, Christmas-y sort of thing. He just was gushing with this enthusiasm. David is a very skilled action guy and was talking about all the lengths to which we would go to do this.
When they sent me the script, I just thought it was such a unique thing. I was like, "I've never seen this before." So often with movies, rarely do I get sent something where I'm like, "Oh, this not only isn't an action movie, but at its heart, it's really a Christmas movie." It's really like Miracle on 34th Street at the end, where this little girl believes in Santa Claus while he's dripping with blood all over his face. When I feel those sorts of complex mixed things, when something feels very unique to me, I get excited because I feel like it's something that I want people to see.
So, let's throw Santa into a cage match with Hellboy, Stranger Thing's Hopper, and the MCU's Red Guardian. How do you think Santa holds his own in that throwdown?
[Laughs] Wow. I mean, don't know, I think he's gonna hold his own. You know, I think, eventually, Hellboy will be the winner of that grudge match, but you know, Hopper and Red Guardian probably go down before Santa. I think Santa stays in there the longest... He's got 10,000 years of delivering presents and getting up to all kinds of stuff we have no idea about. So yeah, I'm putting some good money on Santa Claus.
Between Santa and those other roles, you really get to play with the archetype of the gruff, reluctant protector. As a performer, what is it about that type of character that excites you?
It's a very good question, actually. I really like when people do the right thing, but they don't know why they're doing the right thing, or they don't even like it -- and there's something about that. I think there is something in that gruff masculinity, where there's this outer layer of not wanting to do the right thing or wanting to be difficult or wanting to be this or that, but there's just a heart that breaks through.
I don't know why, I just find that so much more beautiful than people that just know they're doing the right thing and do the right thing. There's something heroic that we find with those people who are like the straight-ahead heroes, right? The guys who know this is the right thing to do, [and] I'm gonna do it. Then there's the guy who doesn't really know the right path or doesn't want to take the right path but instead takes the right path in spite of himself or herself. I find those people, they're just kind of my people. So yeah, that's just my thing.
Violent Night comes to theaters Dec. 2.