Harrison Ford Joined 1923 And Shrinking Without Looking At A Script For Either Show
Harrison Ford might as well be sitting next to Tom Cruise next to the dictionary definition of "movie star." Outside of a handful of appearances as either himself or characters he first made famous in the film, Ford hasn't otherwise appeared on the small screen since "Star Wars: A New Hope" hit theaters. Well, not counting the countless syndicated TV broadcasts of his films that all of our dads watched on Sunday afternoons, of course. But since originating the role of Han Solo, Ford's domain has been the silver screen, which is why it was so surprising to see the now 80-year-old actor sign on to not one, but two separate TV series this year.
Ford's first foray into starring on television came with the Apple TV+ series "Shrinking" from "Scrubs" and "Ted Lasso" creator, Bill Lawrence. Given his reputation of cinematic exclusivity, the creative team never imagined they'd actually get Ford to star as senior therapist Dr. Paul Rhoades, but as critics and audience alike have seemingly unanimously decided, Harrison Ford is perfectly cast.
Shortly after the announcement that he would star in "Shrinking," the TV world was blown away by the announcement that he was joining Taylor Sheridan's empire in the "Yellowstone" prequel series, "1923." Between an intimate dramedy series and a period-piece Western, Harrison Ford is truly pushing his boundaries with his newfound career in episodic television. Fortunately, both shows are genuinely fantastic and more than deserving of a star that shines as brightly as Ford, which is why it's so shocking to learn that Ford signed on to both shows without ever reading a script.
'I wanted to do different things'
Harrison Ford was recently profiled over at The Hollywood Reporter, which interviewed him about this new phase in his career. Journalist James Hibberd cited an old quote from Ford in 2002 where he said, "I only work once a year, and that's enough." Obviously, with two new TV series and a return to the world of "Indiana Jones" on the way, Ford has changed his tune quite a bit in the last two decades.
"The simplest answer is probably the most truthful: After two years of sitting on my ass during COVID-19, and waiting quite a few years for 'Indiana Jones [and the Dial of Destiny]' to start, I had not done as much work as I wanted to and I wanted to do different things," he said. "So ['Shrinking'] came along, and then, very quickly after that, '1923' came along." The ongoing pandemic dramatically changed things for everyone, including Ford's approach to picking projects.
"I took the job without a script on both of them," he said, "on faith that the people who created the projects were going to deliver me a good script." To Ford's credit, Bill Lawrence and Taylor Sheridan are both on pretty untouchable hot streaks, with "Ted Lasso" and "Yellowstone" cornering the market of critical and mainstream popularity.
"I really didn't realize how much work '1923' was going to be, and I absolutely feel it's worth it," he said. While it hasn't been a total cakewalk for Ford, he seems to be loving it. "I'm excited to do another season of both," Ford said. Exciting to know that I now have something in common with Harrison Ford, because I too can't wait to see what he brings to the next seasons of both shows.