Stranger Things’ Hopper And Joyce Were Meant To Be Played By Huge Hollywood Actors

The Joyce and Hopper we know and love!

While the kids are the stars of the show in Stranger Things, many fans have a special place in their hearts for the grown ups in the show, who are trying their best to keep everything together.

Season three, in particular, had fans obsessed with Hopper as the angry but ultimately very sweet step-dad for El.

In fact, we couldn’t imagine anyone else but David Harbour for the part, as well as Winona Ryder for the part of the very stressed but ultimately very brave Joyce.

But the original pitch for the show, also known as a TV bible, had other ideas for the part of Hopper and Joyce.

The pitch stated that the part of Jim Hopper would be played by the likes of Ewan McGregor or Sam Rockwell.

While we love both actors, we’re not sure Christian from Moulin Rouge or Officer Jason Dixon from Three Billboards would have fit the part of the Chief of Police in Hawkins.

Initially pitched as a one-season show, the Duffer brothers said that big movie stars could take on the parts of the adults thanks to short periods of filming.

“The limited nature of the project will allow us to target film actors for the adult leads,” the overview said.

For Joyce, they suggested Naomi Watts or Marisa Tomei. While we can see similarities between Marisa Tomei who plays Peter Parker’s Aunt May in Spider Man, and Joyce, we reckon Winona just has the edge.

Of course, if the initial actors were chosen for the parts, we’d be none the wiser. But having fallen in love with every single character in Stranger Things over three seasons, we wouldn’t have it any other way!