Harrison Ford discusses his anything but ordinary career
The DePaulia's Chris Osterndorf talked to Ford about his upcoming film and experience as an actor and director
Chris Osterndorf
Issue date: 2/1/10 Section: Entertainment
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Harrison Ford: Well I was looking for material to develop for myself… in which I could play a character different than what people might expect from me, in a good movie… and the story of John Crowley, of which I ran across in The Wall Street Journal… It tells the story of a man whose two children are beset by a rare genetic disease called Pompe… The character I play is a fiction created out of… the contributions of a lot of scientists and researchers who helped Crowley.
TD: You're obviously very passionate about this project and you talked about your role in developing it. How at this point in your career do you generally look for parts you want to play?
HF: Well sometimes I feed opportunistically, and sometimes I participate in the development of the material. I've got a thriller coming out in April that I'm involved in right now as a producer, but I have a comedy coming out in July that I had no input until I was cast in the part. And then there's a natural amount of input that occurs when you have a collaborative atmosphere. But you know… circumstances are always different. But it's very likely since I no longer fall into the main vein if meaty roles age wise that I'll be developing things more and more for myself.
TD: This is the second movie in which you've both acted and produced if I'm counting right. Are we going to see more of you producing in the future and is there any possibility of directing?
HF: … Directing is too hard, takes too long, doesn't pay well enough… But I've always had script approval, casting approval in the movies that you, know me best for… But when you're on from the very beginning and you're, (struggling to find a word) championing? Sometimes it takes your identification with it. It's not a negative.
TD: At the Dallas premiere you told the Dallas News that one of the reasons you made the movie was that you thought it would be a good movie experience for the audience. Can you be more specific, what kind of experience?
HF: Well the reason I made the film is because I thought it would be a good experience for the audience. My responsibility as an actor was to create a character that added to the quality and the drama of that experience. Who can deny that experience of you go into the theater and in participate in the positive experience of this guy and his family. You may miss the car crashes and the blowing shit up (laughs.) But you may walk away with a positive feeling about humanity… I'm not about kinetics, even in the films which I think are often unfairly characterized as action movies. I'm always focused on character and emotions and good storytelling.
TD: "Extraordinary Measures" is about risks. What's the biggest risk you've ever taken with a movie?
HF: …I just never consider that risky. For me it's all about… mitigation of risk. Some people think flying (his hobby) I do is risky… I think it's about developing the skill to mitigate against risk… I'm not looking for risk. I'm looking for quality in the work I do. So I don't think of myself as a big risk taker. Even when I was making the riskiest move of my life which was trying to be an actor, I didn't consider it risky, I just considered it would be likely that I would be successful.
TD: Is there a cause you support, like pompe disease?
HF: Well my first wife has MS, and I've poured research into MS for years. But personally, quietly. I'm not an advocate. I don't appear preaching. My interest in conservation is a long-standing interest… I believe that I am useful as a communicator, but I do not believe that I should have the expectation or be used as a member of an all-star team… I wouldn't take (this role) for a bully pulpit on which to preach… I wanted to tell a story which would exercise people's emotions.
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