famous – for his reticent interviews

Nov-2000
Film Review

Harrison Ford is famous – for his reticent interviews.

It’s almost impossible to know what lies beneath his cool demeanour. After three decades of dealing with the press, he knows exactly how to answer any question but his bland answers can drive journalists mad with frustration. And he is almost as guarded about his professional life as he is about his personal life.

“It’s a fulfilling life but, I’m afraid, a boring one for the press,” says the 58-year-old star. “When I don’t have a job, I become just another father and husband. I clean up my rooms and I take the kids to school.” He laughs, “I’m not very interesting. The most interesting thing about me is the work I do. An audience doesn’t go to see my movies because I’m a ‘fascinating person’, they go because they know that most of my movies have been good.”

Publicizing Robert Zemeckis’ suspense thriller What Lies Beneath, in which he plays an adulterous doctor dealing with his apparently strange wife (Michelle Pfeiffer), Ford is as uncomfortable as ever. You can feel like a dentist pulling teeth. The quotes don’t come easily, with answers like, “I like this movie. When I saw it recently, it surprised me several times. There is extra tension created in the cutting room.” Another not-so-earth-shattering quote: “This is a good entertainment. Hopefully, it will find an audience in this market place. You never know anymore what’s going to click and what’s not going to click.”

Things improve when he discusses his love of film-making: “I like being part of a group of people attempting to do something rather complicated. My mind is engaged on a level I rarely find anywhere else. That’s exciting and fulfilling. Filming is a process that can be endlessly improved. It’s different every time.”

He took the role because he had “a strong emotional reaction to the material. When I read the script, I felt sympathy for my character. I thought that the audience would be emotionally involved in the story. That’s the thing I look for the most. I know on my first reading of a script whether I want to do the movie or not. If I get through a script, I’m likely to do it. Most scripts I’m not able to get through.”

As for the future, Ford hopes there will be another Indiana Jones sequel: “I’m eager to do it. But there will be no more Jack Ryan spy pictures. I have declined to continue,” he concludes, happy the interview has come to an end.

Fair Use Notice

This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. Harrison Ford Web is making such material available in an effort to promote research. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.