The Stranger Things actor, 47, took to his Instagram on Thursday, July 21, and detailedl how he lost a significant amount of weight between Seasons 3 and 4 of the Netflix supernatural drama, but now — after “ballooning up” to play Santa Claus in an upcoming film — he’s having a bit of trouble shedding the extra pounds to get back into Police Chief Jim Hopper’s uniform.
“Many of you have asked about Hopper’s physical transformation from season 3 to season 4, ” David began his lengthy message. “My trainer @davidhigginslondon worked with me for 8 months to make the transformation, and then another year to keep it through the pandemic. All told it was a difficult and exciting ride, changing diet and exercise plans (or lack thereof).” He went on to explain the photos he shared in the post, saying one depicts when the journey began and another is the day they began to film Season 4. “All told I lost over 75lbs. 265-270 in season 3 and all the way down to 190 when we shot.”
David said, as for his current weight loss attempt, it all has to do with him playing the bearded man from the North Pole for Univeral Pictures upcoming Violent Night. “Recently ballooned up again to play jolly ole st. Nick in a flick I can’t wait for you to see this holiday season, so I am struggling to fight back down towards a good weight for wherever hopper ends up in season 5.” He concluded, “All this up and down is not good for the body, and I’ll have to give it up soon, but it is such a fun part of the job to live in a different version of your skin for a while.”
Earlier this month, David revealed how intermittent fasting and Pilates helped him drop the weight for Stranger Things Season 4. “I lost about 80 pounds from season [3] — I was about 270 [then], and when we shot [season 4] I was around 190,” he told British GQ . “I don’t think I’ll ever do that again. I have this Santa Claus movie [Violent Night] coming out for Universal in December and I gained [it all back]. But now, yeah, never again. The prosthetics are too good.”
