Harrison Ford

Interview, June, 2003 by Calista Flockhart

HE'S PLAYED EVERYTHING FROM A SPACE-AGE SWASHBUCKLER IN STAR WARS TO A WHIP-CRACKING TREASURE HUNTER IN THE INDIANA JONES FILMS, AND AN AMERICAN PRESIDENT IN AIR FORCE ONE-BUT IN REAL LIFE, HE'S AS MYSTERIOUS, COOL, AND HIP AS BIG-TIME MOVIE STARS COME. HERE HIS ROOMMATE (AND FAVORITE ACTRESS) CUTS THROUGH TO THE MAN.

Over the past quarter-century, other actors may have garnered more awards, critical acclaim, or ink, but no one has driven the box office like Harrison Ford. More bankable than a T-bill and nearly as steady, he's put the see in sequel. His Star Wars and Indiana Jones movies (a fourth Jones installment is slated to begin filming next year) and Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan series are among the most successful franchises in cinema history. On a resume packed with thrillers (The Fugitive, 1993), romances (Working Girl, 1988), dramas (Witness, 1985), and action films (Blade Runner, 1982)--each a watershed picture, and financial success, in its own right--comedy is the lone ill-represented genre. Now, 24 years after the hilarious The Frisco Kid (1979), Ford gets back in the saddle and goes for laughs opposite Josh Hartnett in Ron Shelton's new cop action-comedy Hollywood Homicide.

But while nearly every side of Ford the actor might be familiar to audiences, it's only recently that Ford the man has revealed himself. A year into a relationship with actress Calista Flockhart, he is, like anyone flush with love, pleased to announce his joy from the top of the nearest mountain. Or, in this case, from around the couple's dining-room table. Flockhart, with some support from her dog, Webster (a mutt rescued from a Manhattan dumpster 15 years ago), clearly relishes the opportunity too, delivering a playful yet professional performance as she interviews Ford.

CALISTA FLOCKHART: [to her dog] Hey, Webster! Come here! [to Ford] So, your new movie, Hollywood Homicide, is really terrific. You're very funny, very slick. Congratulations. Can you tell us a little bit about the story and your character, Joe--what's his last name?

HARRISON FORD: Joe Gavilan. The movie is a cop-partner comedy. What's different about it is that it focuses not only on a police story, the murder of a rap group, but also on the two characters--my character and the one played by Josh Hartnett--who have, as is typical of Los Angeles homicide detectives, other part-time jobs. There are guys who are accountants, and tennis pros, and do security work, and my character is a real estate broker. Josh's character is a yoga teacher who really wants to be an actor.

CF: When you prepare for a role, do you do a lot of research? Did you study about being a real estate agent?

HF: [laughs] No, but I spent a little time trying to nail down the style of L.A. homicide detectives. I've done so much research over the years about cops that I've got the general feel for that, I think, but I wanted to have an idea of what the particular style of the LAPD is. Professionalism is something that is very important to them. They leave their coats on and their ties snugged up a lot more than detectives in other departments do.

CF: Why do you think that is?

HF: I don't know. But, historically, L.A.'s always gone for this very professional image.

CF: It seems like you had a lot of fun doing this movie. Do you enjoy doing comedy?

HF: Oh, yeah. It was fun. And it was fun to work with Ron Shelton.

CF: How did you get on with him?

HF: Great. When I agreed to do this picture, there wasn't really a script. There was just a sort of concept. I had so much confidence in the idea, and in Ron, that I agreed to do it. He started writing in April, and we started shooting in mid-August, which is really fast. And that allowed for a certain amount of collaboration, which I enjoy.

CF: Was this the first time you accepted a movie without having a script?

HF: Yeah.

CF: How did that feel?

HF: Scary, sometimes. It meant working a little harder, and that was okay.

CF: Did you do any of the writing?

HF: No, I don't write. I have no capacity to write. Rewrite, fix, help.. . that's as much as I would do.

CF: Do you ever ad-lib when you're working, or do you always stick to the script?

HF Sometimes I try to improve the language, the lines, or the delivery, but I don't ad-lib because I think that makes it really hard for everybody else involved.

CF: One of the things I really liked about Hollywood Homicide was the fusion of cultures, people entering into other people's cultures. Your character entered the world of hip-hop for the first time. Did you learn anything from it? Did you know anything about hip-hop?

HF: In the story, my character is meant to know nothing about rap, and not to like it very much, but I actually know about it, because my kids make me listen to it.

CF: You have four really nice, beautiful children. Do you like the hip-hop they play?

HF: Yes, there's some rap I do like very much. I like Eminem, Blackalicious.

CF: Were you surprised when Eminem won the Oscar?