Hopper and Joyce from 'Stranger Things' dated back in high school, say actors Winona Ryder and David Harbour
'Stranger Things' fans have been shipping Joyce and Chief Hopper for the longest time. And guess what, Winona Ryder, who plays Joyce, and David Harbour, who plays Hopper, completely agree. In a recent interview with LA Times, the co-stars got very candid about their on-screen chemistry on Stranger Things.
"I think they dated in high school. And I think there's some unfinished business," said Winona. Referring to the time Joyce comes to ask Hopper for help, which is also their first scene in the Netflix series. She said, "Both of us toyed around in the beginning about who left who. At the start of the series when she comes to ask for help to find her son, he's so charming and passive-aggressive about it".
When Joyce begs him for help, he turns her down with a strange response, saying, "I don’t really want to look for your son." David suspects that the two had a bad falling apart back in high school.
Referring to the dialogue, he said, "That’s a crazy thing to say. But that anger, that intense reaction has to come from someplace, right? There are people in my life, back in my high school years or early out of college, who burned me in a certain way. If I were to see them again, I'd be right back in high school. It’s the idea that the two of us have this flame."
He added that he actually likes the idea of their relationship where the only thing keeping them apart is their own egos. "I just like the idea of two people who can’t be together because of their pride, because they were burned. But if there’s the potential for vulnerability and growing up, it's the person that they need most. They're the only family they could ever have, both of them."
The two also revealed that they fear when speaking about these ideas to the show creators Matt and Ross Duffer. "The interesting thing about the collaboration with the Duffers is that we pitch things. So, a lot of these ideas, we don't want to put out there because they could show up in Season 4," said David, before adding, "Or Season 3."
Ryder agreeed completely, "That was my fear in doing the series. What if you find out you're, like, a killer down the road? You'd want to play it completely differently."
Stranger Things finished airing its second season last year and the show was officially renewed for a third season earlier this April. Set in the 1980s, it follows the supernatural occurrings in the fictional town of Hawkins in Indiana.
