Picture courtesy of Brett Gipson and Netflix
Stepping into the role of an iconic character in a different medium is a tough assignment, but one very familiar to voice actors. From video game adaptations of superhero movies to animated spin–offs of beloved shows, many actors over the years have had to interpret a performance in their own style, a daunting task with varying levels of success.
Such a task fell to Brett Gipson, a seasoned actor who was selected to pick up David Harbour’s mantle as the embodiment of Jim Hopper for Netflix’s Stranger Things spin-off, Tales From ‘85. With more than two decades of experience under his belt, Gipson has spent a lot of time in the indie horror circuit, while also amassing credits on shows like Community and Shameless.
We caught up with Gipson ahead of the series release on April 23rd to chat about the process of being cast as Hopper, his take on the character, and the current landscape for voice actors.
How did you get into the industry?
I’ve been an actor for a long time. I went to school for it, got my degree in theater arts, was doing strictly theater, and then I did my first horror film in 2004. That pushed me into LA and I’ve been doing TV and film ever since. As far as voice over goes, I thought it was this whole other universe. COVID came around, and I was having lunch with my agent, and I just started talking, and just from the natural temper of my voice, she was like, ‘Do we rep you for voice over? I was like, ‘No.’ She was like, ‘we do now.’
I wonder how many actors have a similar story of getting into voice acting around COVID.
In that meeting with my agent she mentioned that a lot of actors are trying to do this right now, because you can do it remotely. It’s very different from being on camera or on stage. The entire universe has to live within your voice. You’re just told that there’s a monster in front of you or there’s a plane crash, and you have to create this world. My agent started sending me out on really good stuff and the thing that was baffling to me is, when you audition, especially for stuff like Stranger Things, they use code names. So I see the relationship. I’m an older dad, I’m having this relationship with my daughter, I don’t know what it is, but this reminds me of El and Hopper. So I thought, ‘I’m gonna lean into that.’ And it paid off.
So you had no idea it was a Stranger Things show, but you based your audition on Hopper and Eleven anyway?
I had no idea what I was reading for. I didn’t even know they were making an animated series. I just played the relationship, and my instincts really paid off.
What was your first meeting like with Eric and the Duffers?
Initially, after I booked it, I was like, ‘Right, David Harbor, that’s the voice I need to emulate.’ But after meeting with Eric and the Duffers, they were like, ‘You are not voice-matching him. We know fans are expecting that, but this its own brand new thing. This is Brett Gibson bringing Chief Jim Hopper to life.’ It’s much like Batman in that there’s Michael Keaton, Christian Bale, and so on. This is just another version. After I realized that, the creative juices started flowing. There was less pressure on recreating the character; they gave me so much creative freedom.
Stranger Things: Tales From ’85 (L to R) Luca Diaz as Mike and Brett Gipson as Hopper in Stranger Things: Tales From ’85. Cr. COURTESY OF NETFLIX © 2026
That’s a bold thing to do because of how attached fandoms can be to the original versions of a character.
It can seem new and scary, but it’s really not. These are the characters that already exist in the Stranger Things universe. One thing they reminded me of is that the Broadway play already exists. These characters exist within another world, so this is my own take.
Before you worked on the show, what was your opinion of Hopper, and how did that change from inhabiting him?
So I am a big theater nerd. I’m old school. I literally have Xeroxed character sheets from college that you fill out. You’re adding their educational background, diet, family, relationships, hygiene, music, likes, and dislikes. As soon as you get that, you get a full skeleton, and then whenever you step into the booth, whatever they throw at you, you can just jump in. I get all the nuts and bolts down before I even look at the text. And thankfully, it was easy to step into it. David Harbour did all the heavy lifting for me, so I just got to watch the show and basically fill in the blanks. I approach it like I do anything else, very nerdy, very textbook.
Who is the Brett Gipson version of Hopper?
The big things that I leaned into were the need for love and acceptance, and the fear of losing that. Because when you step in on the day, you’re like, ‘Okay, you’re in the cabin. What does that mean? Where are you coming from before then?’ So I literally have colored pencils and I write ‘At this point I’m scared, I’m trying to protect El, there’s outside elements coming in, so this is my papa bear moment.’ There were days that I left in tears, I’m trying to protect her so much, but I’m squeezing too tight and I’m losing her at the same time. I would get in, and I would start getting all welled up with tears that I’m trying to do my best, but it’s just coming out wrong. So that need for protecting her, protecting myself, was the big throughline for me.
And then there’s the overall irreverent fun, too. He’s very silly. He doesn’t care. Brett Gellman is worried about the Russians, and he’s laughing it off. Finding his temper was another big thing that I had to find within me. There are some fun scenes where I come in, and I’m just yelling at the kids, and it’s pandemonium. It’s like herding cats with me. So I found a lot of elements within myself in Jim Hopper. And honestly, this is my wheelhouse. This is what I was born to play.
What’s a small character quirk you found within Hopper?
The thing that I absolutely love is his frustration and the restraint that he has to take. He’ll walk into an environment where he will get angry, but he has to realise that he’s talking to a child right now, and he’s doing his best. Being a child of the 80s, I knew dads like that. We’re talking about candy and stuff, but I’m very frustrated you’re not getting your nutrients, and you can just see that fine line that I just barely touch on, and that’s been something fun that has carried over into my day to day life. I’m about to explode, and I’m not going to.
Was there anything on this project that you found difficult to crack?
I don’t want to spoil it, but I do have a song in this, and I did musical theater. But this is Hopper. Hopper can’t sing, so I had to do it and practice it bad. I had to go against all of my nature and have all of my training thrown out the window and go in and be silly and fun and do it. Having it land was great, but it was going against all my fibers.
What’s the current landscape like for voice actors?
My experience with it is, I’ve had more success in booking voice-over post-COVID than I’ve had with theatrical. When they did in-person auditions, you know, there are 10 guys in LA that are six-three blonde and can do this, one of us is getting this role. Now they’re seeing 4000 people for a role, and even getting seen is hard. With VO, I’m auditioning 15 times a week, 20 times a week. I’m putting so much content out there, my booking rate has gone up, and I can get it done fairly quickly instead of having to find a friend that’s a reader or to pull out my cop uniform. It’s a faster process.
SAG has some things in place to protect you guys from AI, but does that play on your mind at all?
It’s terrifying. My whole stance on AI is that it’s going to be around. We can’t do anything about it at this point, and there’s going to be a market for that, for people who don’t really care about the performance. However, for something like Stranger Things, they want the actual human article. They want your imagination. They want your voice, the sense of longing. They want that human connection. And that’s something I don’t think can ever be replaced.
Rating: TV-MA
