David Harbour tells us his favorite Christmas movies

In the action-comedy Violent Night (out Dec. 2), David Harbour's Father Christmas must protect the occupants of a mansion against John Leguizamo's gang of robbers.

"You will believe in Santa Claus again," says the Stranger Things actor, 47. "And you will believe that he's a violent motherf---er."

Harbour gained both weight and jiujitsu skills for the film, which was shot in Winnipeg, Canada.

"We'd just do crazy workouts and then go eat poutine," he says. Harbour's gift to us? A list of his favorite holiday movies, which you can unwrap below.

Miracle on 34th Street (1947)

"It's so beautifully done," Harbour says of the classic, about a Macy's Santa who says he's the real deal. "A lot of what I wanted to get in the script of Violent Night was directly related to that movie. It's John Wick meets Miracle on 34th Street."

Die Hard (1988)

"The performances are unbelievable," Harbour says of the Christmas Eve-set thriller. "I love an action hero who's not that capable. Bruce Willis is not Stallone, he's not Schwarzenegger. I think that's why the movie did so well."

Bad Santa (2003)

"I love when you take something like Santa Claus and you mess with it, and I just love Billy Bob Thornton," says Harbour. "He's such a dry, interesting actor. Almost everything he touches is gold — and that was particularly hilarious."

Make sure to also check out EW's Holiday Movie Preview cover story on Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery.

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