HELLBOY Creator Mike Mignola On How David Harbour's Performance Differs From Ron Perlman's
Following the recent release of the first trailer for the Hellboy reboot, creator Mike Mignola has opened up about what separates David Harbor's performance from Ron Perlman's. More details after the jump.
Ever since the David Harbour-led Hellboy reboot was announced, many fans have been bracing themselves as they wait to see how the latest take on the Mike Mignola creation stacks up against the Big Red seen in the two Guillermo Del Toro films.
And while the recently released trailer for the Neil Marshall-directed film didn't exactly receive unanimous from fans of the comic book character, it did make it clear that the upcoming adaptation was quite different from Del Toro's work.
Now, in an interview with IGN, creator Mike Mignola explained in more detail how David Harbour's performance as Hellboy differed from Ron Perlman's portrayal.
“[David Harbour’s Hellboy is] a little bit more dramatic. There’s a different edge. [Ron Perlman] was very smooth as Hellboy, and there’s a whole different love interest vibe with Ron’s thing. Ron was almost playing this kind of old adolescent. And Harbour plays a grittier Hellboy, and a bit more explosive, emotionally. It’s hard to explain, but it is a very different take. The beauty is, both of them, in their own way, feel like Hellboy. It’s almost like they’re just tipped it in two different directions. There’s something much gnarlier about David’s Hellboy.”
Though a fair amount of the differences between the two versions of Hellboy will undoubtedly come from the fact that they are portrayed by two different actors, Mignola explained how the story of the reboot has also affected Red's personality.
"In the del Toro films, Hellboy is kind of penned up, and kept secret, and that is not what we have here [in the upcoming film]," Mignola explained. "This is truer to the comic, in that Hellboy’s been out in the world. He’s not a top-secret, hidden away guy. He’s an out-there-in-the-world, functioning, working adult. So you’ve got that working stiff, been there, done that vibe with Harbour, that you just couldn’t have with Ron because it was played so differently."
But what do you folks think? Are you excited to see Harbour wield the Right Hand of Doom, or did the recent trailer dampen your interest in the film? To share your thoughts, leave a comment below.