Violent Night's David Harbour Was 'Blown Away' That Santa Was In His House [Exclusive]
You've seen Santa Claus stand as the epitome of seasonal goodwill in movies like "Miracle on 34th Street" and "The Christmas Chronicles." You've even seen Santa as a foul-mouthed drunk with "Bad Santa." But have you seen him stuff a grenade down someone's pants and watch him go kaboom? Well, it appears you're in luck, as director Tommy Wirkola's "Violent Night" sees David Harbour don the big red suit to take out a group of mercenaries holding a family hostage on Christmas Eve. Could you truly ask for anything more?
When it comes to Christmas movies that take a darker, bloodier path with the ultimate gift giver, there's no shortage of them. Genre flicks like "Santa's Slay," "Christmas Evil," and "Silent Night, Deadly Night" show Santa as a bloodthirsty maniac on a mission. Harbour's interpretation, however, does so not out of a homicidal urge to rack up a body count, but because he sees it as his responsibility to a good kid caught in the crossfire. All in all, that trailer has already sold me big time on Harbour as jolly John McClane.
During a press junket, /Film's Bill Bria got to talk with Harbour about some Christmas memories from his childhood, where he revealed that the lack of a chimney led his parents to get creative with their holiday fibbing:
"I was always talking to my mom, confused about how Santa got in the house, because he comes down the chimney. And she said, 'Well, [we] leave the back door open and the reindeer come and they park on the ground there and he walks in the back door.'"
Harbour's parents made the Christmas tradition a magical experience
Harbour also talked about how he would put cookies and milk out for Santa, along with carrots for the reindeer. When he would wake up the next day, the evidence that he was visited by Kris Kringle, such as crumbs from the sugary treats, left him in awe of what had just happened (via /Film):
"I remember just being blown away that Santa was in our house, something about the cookies and the milk was just, it just works on a kid's mind. It's so brilliant what we do as parents to kids, because there's something about the cookies and the half-drunk milk that just made me believe that Santa was there! There's no way my parents could've done that! [They] couldn't have eaten those cookies!"
Santa is one of the only lies we've collectively decided is okay to tell children, which only makes it that much harder of a challenge for the parents to maintain it , that is, until they come to the realization on their own. I imagine Harbour's folks must be so proud after all of their hard work.
When he was a child, they got to convince a baby-faced Harbour that Santa swiftly came through the back, munched on some treats, and left presents behind. Now all these years later, they get to see their kid as the jolly man himself, where he bashes people's faces in with a sock full of billiard balls. In the event there actually is a Santa with the skills of "John Wick," I'm sure he's flattered by Harbour's adulthood gesture.
"Violent Night" is set to hit theaters on December 2, 2022.