With all the Indy buzz going around, Mr. Ford is in the public eye again. Critical acclaim for his latest performance notwithstanding, I think that he has a pretty good résumé. My sense is that he’s a decent fellow, as well.
After seeing him on talk shows (Letterman, Conan, etc), he strikes me as a bit of a flake. Nice guy and I like a lot of his work (I’ll even forgive Firewall because of Blade Runner), but he’s a flake.
I used to like him a lot but I went a little “meh” on him when he left his wife, pierced his ear and took up with the big-lipped toothpick. So I just have to content myself with a boyfriend who’s much younger than him and who can pass as Indy when he puts on the leather jacket and fedora. Still, I can’t wait for Indy 4.
How so? I’ve never seen him in an interview – was he flakey about politics? Or was he Tom-Cruise-jumping-on-the-couch flakey about his skinny young chippy? Or just goofy in general?
He has repeatedly stated how uncomfortable he is doing interviews so maybe that comes across as flaky. However, it has been a long time snice Harrison has had a hit, I can’t remember what the last one was.
Every interview I’ve seen with him he’s sounded like he’s a bit slow. He wouldn’t really answer the questions he was asked. I think a good analogy would be an interview with a pro athlete that obviously got through college on their body and not their brain.
Harrison Ford is just a knockaround guy who had no official acting training, and worked as a carpenter before randomly getting his break in the movies, where he played basically the same character over and over again. He lives in a ranch in Wyoming and flies helicopters and stuff in his spare time. As a person, he’s probably a tough but reserved guy. I wouldn’t expect him to come off as particularly entertaining or clever in an interview, but he seems like a good guy.
I was going to mention this, he was a carpenter before getting into acting. He was one of those who made it in a staring role and his career took off like a rocket. He’s probably a great guy to have a beer with or talk shop with, but don’t ask him how he likes the Hollywood Night-Life because he probably doesn’t have a clue.
IIRC he was an actor, though perhaps not formally trained, and picked up carpentry because, like most actors, he needed a day job. It wasn’t like someone said “Hey, carpenter, you wanna be in a movie?” and he went “Yeah, alright I guess.” At least as far as I remember from some interview or other.
He also donates his time and his helicopter to participate in search and rescue missions in the local mountains. He’s just an all around common guy who got lucky and in no way sounds or acts like most Hollywood asswipes.
He’s also heavily into the ganja. A friend of mine worked at a restaurant he frequented in NYC and he apparently showed up reeking of pot all the time.
IIRC, he had done bit parts after American Graffiti, and had pretty much given up on acting, when Francis Ford Coppola hired him on George Lucas’ behalf to do some cabinet work while Lucas was casting Star Wars. Lucas asked Ford to do a quick reading while he was there, and the rest is history. Coppola maintains he thought Ford would be perfect for Han Solo, and had planted him there on purpose. Lucas doesn’t affirm or deny, and Ford stays mum.
Many years ago I read an article where he was being interviewed for an aviation magazine. He was discussing all the planes he owned, and made a point to mention that if he hadn’t flown for a couple months, he would always then go up with an instructor, to make sure he hadn’t gotten rusty or started to develop any bad habits. He wasn’t some overly-confident maverick – he came off as a conscientious craftsman who wanted to make sure he got things right.
I remember seeing him on Letterman. Letterman said, “The thing is, I can never tell whether you are going to answer my question, make a joke, or just flat-out punch me out.”
I was going to start a new thread about Ford’s appearance on Letterman on Tuesday, but this gently used thread will work just fine. Wow, was he creepy! The CBS clip doesn’t capture the creepiness, but, he basically stared at the monitor the whole time.
The thought of Harrison Ford, High, is making me laugh SO MUCH right now, especially as I’m watching Harold and Kumar in the background. Maybe the next movie should be