Hopper has typically been secretive about his past, but Stranger Things season 4 revealed several important details about his backstory.
WARNING! Spoilers ahead for Stranger Things season 4.
Stranger Things has given audiences a much better look into the background of the beloved Hawkins police chief, Jim Hopper. When viewers first meet Jim, he’s a fairly cynical figure who has spent the past few years grieving the death of his daughter. As Stranger Things progresses, Hopper becomes a much more involved character who finds the capacity to love and open his heart again, though his backstory still leads him to believe he’s “cursed.”
The first three seasons only gave very small glimpses into Jim Hopper’s life before Stranger Things’ season 1 timeline, with the biggest reveal of his daughter’s death explaining much of his skepticism early on. David Harbour’s character was then given a significant monologue in Stranger Things season 4, episode 5, “The Nina Project,” which filled in the majority of the gaps in Hopper’s backstory. Harbour explained that he had been waiting years to deliver Hopper’s emotional monologue about his “cursed” past, with the details revealing why he needs Joyce and Eleven in his life, but also why he’s so hesitant to return to them.
Hopper’s true backstory has been in the works since the very beginning of Stranger Things, but the series waited until his most desperate hour in a Russian prison to finally give Harbour his big monologue scene. Certain parts of Hopper’s background had already been revealed in the Stranger Things’ official canonical book Darkness on the Edge of Town, though many of these secret details had yet to be translated into the Netflix series. Including every major detail from the book and series, here’s a breakdown of everything that Stranger Things has revealed about Jim Hopper’s backstory.
Hopper Grew Up In Hawkins
Like many of the other characters in Stranger Things, Jim Hopper was raised in the fictional Hawkins, Indiana. While much of his youth is still left unexplored, Joyce and Hopper have reflected on their time growing up in Hawkins together. Both attended Hawkins High School together where they were friends, often skipping classes to go smoke cigarettes together. Hopper is also hinted to have been popular back at Stranger Things' Hawkins High, as he mentions that he hadn't been stood up on a date since the ninth grade. However, Hopper didn’t always live in Hawkins, as he would leave the town when he was sent off to Vietnam and later moved to New York City.
Hopper Didn’t Get Along With His Father Growing Up
Stranger Things season 4’s emotional monologue for Hopper reveals that he and his father didn’t get along when he was a teenager. When Hopper is sent a letter from the U.S. government drafting him into the war, David Harbour’s character suggests that this is his opportunity to finally prove to his father that he’s a much better person than his dad thinks he is. This may be part of why he became such a devoted father to his daughters Sara and Eleven, as Hopper's own father hadn’t been attentive or kind to him when he was growing up.
He Was Drafted Into The Vietnam War At 18 Years Old
The newsreel at the end of Stranger Things season 3 revealed that Hopper was a decorated U.S. soldier in the Vietnam War, with the unpopular conflict being notable for drafting an abundance of young men in the 1960s and early 1970s. In Stranger Things season 4, Hopper explains that he received a letter from the government drafting him into the Vietnam War at only 18 years old. Unlike many others who were drafted, the Russia-kidnapped Hopper claims he was happy to go and prove himself to his father, but his opinion would soon change when realizing what he was actually being sent to do.
Hopper Was Sent To Mix Agent Orange Chemicals During The War
One of the most controversial aspects of the Vietnam War remains the United States’ use of Agent Orange, a herbicide and defoliant chemical being used to destroy the Vietnamese jungles and agricultural lands. Hopper explains that as a kid fresh out of high school, he was sent to Vietnam to mix Agent Orange with fellow soldiers, which they were told was a relatively harmless herbicide. However, Stranger Things' then-18-year-old Jim Hopper and his fellow soldiers who made it back home alive would soon discover the lasting side effects of exposure to Agent Orange, a substance they had been making with only kitchen gloves as protective gear. The health effects of mixing Agent Orange led to the deaths and illnesses of many of his friends and their children, some of whom were stillborn, as Hopper emotionally explains in Stranger Things season 4.
Hopper Got Married & Had A Daughter Named Sara
Hopper’s backstory also includes the fact that he returned home from Vietnam to begin a family with his wife Diane. The two had a daughter named Sara who was born healthy in 1971, with Hopper being a devoted and loving father to his child. However, their happy family wouldn’t last long, as Sara was suddenly diagnosed with cancer, dying of the illness at only seven years old. When Hopper is introduced in Stranger Things season 1, he’s still unable to fully come to terms with his daughter’s death, as he tells Mr. Clarke that she lives with her mom rather than revealing the truth of her fate.
Hopper Was A Police Officer In New York City
Before becoming Hawkins’ Chief of Police in Stranger Things’ timeline, Jim Hopper was a police officer in New York City throughout the mid-1970s. After coming home from Vietnam, Hopper, Sara, and Diane moved from Hawkins to New York City, where he became a homicide detective. Before moving back to the “town where nothing happens,” Hopper gained plenty of hands-on experience investigating crimes in New York, which undoubtedly helped him when approaching the disappearance of Will Byers in Stranger Things season 1. Since then, Hopper has shown that he has extensive knowledge of police work on his investigations of the Upside Down and Russian operations with Joyce.
Sara’s Death Was Caused By Effects From Agent Orange
Stranger Things season 1 explained that Hopper’s daughter Sara died in 1979 quickly after being diagnosed with cancer, but season 4 reveals what actually caused her illness. While Sara was born healthy, she developed cancer as a side effect of Hopper’s exposure to Agent Orange in the Vietnam War, which left many of his fellow soldiers’ children stillborn or living with birth defects. This is a major source of why David Harbour's character feels so guilty about her death, as Hopper explains in Stranger Things season 4 that he knew having a child would mean risking health problems, but did so anyway. Sara’s death being influenced by his exposure to Agent Orange is revealed as one of the biggest reasons why Hopper thinks he’s “cursed.”
Hopper Became Addicted To Drugs & Alcohol After His Wife Left Him
When Stranger Things season 1’s 1983 timeline begins, Hopper is an alcoholic who also habitually uses drugs. The series gradually reveals that his addiction began after Sara’s death and grew when his wife, Diane, subsequently divorced him. Hopper then spent several years as Hawkins’ police chief while addicted to anti-anxiety drugs and abusing alcohol, which he did as a way to “hide” himself. This is where Hopper’s backstory comes to an end in Stranger Things, as season 1 meets him when he’s still processing his daughter’s death and divorce from Diane, who had by then remarried and had another baby. Soon after, Joyce and Eleven brought Hopper back to life in Hawkins, where he’s now a hero to many of the characters of Stranger Things.
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