INTERVIEW
He might have more than 50 film credits to his name, but it’s for the role of all-action archaeologist Indiana Jones that Harrison Ford is most loved. With a new ‘Indy’ movie poised to hit the big screen, the actor talks to Sarah Deakin about how it feels to get that famous fedora back on
The fourth instalment in the Indiana Jones series, The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, hits cinemas this month. Directed by Steven Spielberg and co-written by executive producer George Lucas, the film, which is set in 1957, pits an older and wiser Indiana Jones – Harrison Ford is now 65 years old – against Soviet Union agents in a race for the eponymous crystal skull. Joining Indy in this latest quest are his former lover Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen) and the greaser Mutt (Shia LaBeouf), while John Hurt, Jim Broadbent and Ian McDiarmid play fellow academics.
How did this movie come about? It took a long time…
We arrived at an ambition to make one maybe 12 years ago. It took a while for everybody to agree and for the form where it was attractive to George [Lucas], Steven [Spielberg] and I, but we finally did it.
What’s the difference between Indy now and 20 years ago?
Well, the character is 20 years older and in every respect we acknowledge what that means. We are in a different period of history. We don’t have to wear out the Nazis as bad guys. There is a different group of villains and it’s a different story. It’s really interesting.
Why do you think other action heroes like Rambo and Rocky have been back recently, and now Indiana Jones?
Well, I don’t know. Maybe there aren’t so many parts for old actors [laughs]. It doesn’t mean anything other than that the films have been successful and there is an audience for them. Indiana Jones is a family kind of film, and it’s great to be able to introduce this character in a fresh film to a new generation.
But you’re at an age where a lot of people aren’t flying planes and starring in action movies. So, being old is an attitude?
I think what keeps you healthy is activity and we all have a different genetic – it’s the luck of the draw. There are 75- and 80-year-old people running the marathon. I can’t do that and I don’t want to do that, but when I’m doing one of these films I certainly do work hard at the gym just to get ready. It’s more for me a matter of supporting your skeleton. If you’ve got a bad back or bad knees, those little muscles keep the whole thing working.
What do you do? Yoga?
No, I’m not that way. I work out for about 40 minutes at the gym three times a week and I love to play tennis. I don’t play competitive tennis or social tennis. I play it to develop the skill and to work out.
You tend to keep playing action heroes…
You know, I’ve made 40 or more movies and maybe less than a handful are… I think it’s even fair to say none of them are action films. They’re films in which there may be some physical action. Neither am I interested in playing action heroes. I’m interested in the character, not his heroic aspect but the full range of his nature and personality, so I resist the stamp of ‘action hero’.
How do you keep up? Is it because of sports?
It’s adrenaline. Adrenaline is useful for keeping your heart beating, but I’m not an adrenaline junkie; I’m not interested in risk. People think I fly planes for that reason and there is nothing further from the truth. The freedom is what’s interesting to me. The freedom to leave when you want, to come back when you want, to see the world in a way that most people don’t see it.
What was your inspiration for Indiana Jones? Did you have to construct a back-story for the character?
No, I didn’t – I got the character out of a leather jacket, a whip, a hat, and it had nothing to do with him being an archaeologist and a school teacher and a guy who sometimes, because of economic circumstances, took things that weren’t his. I didn’t need to go back and get inspiration from another movie; it was there on the page.
Indiana Jones – the leather jacket, the hat and the whip – created a moment in history. What can we expect now?
You’ll see it soon. It’s exactly the same costume, exactly.
What did you feel when you put it on?
It fits! It was made for me 20 years ago and it fits me now. That feels good.
Has technology changed things?
We depend much more on real action than we do on CGI effects, but I had a flying suit where they could put a wire on me and I could ride a motorcycle in between a converging bus and car and there was a guy on the other end who could lift me away from the crunching metal. We didn’t have that before.
How did the old team receive the new team?
We all had a great time. With Spielberg, every element from the acting to the catering is really good, so it’s fun to go to work. We had a wonderful cast, a wonderful crew; the best I’ve ever seen.
Were you a mentor to Shia LaBeouf?
No. He’s been an actor since he was 10. He knows what he’s doing and I’m not an instructor – I just work there too.
Who were your acting heroes when you were growing up?
I never did think much about acting until I was an actor. And so my heroes were cowboys, John Wayne – not even John Wayne but Hopalong Cassidy, Sky King, Gene Autry… I’m not a big movie buff so I never made these guys my heroes. My hero was Abraham Lincoln. That was the kind of hero I had.
What were your ambitions when you started out and what are they now?
My ambition when I started out was to make a living as an actor – not to have to have two jobs. But I never was ambitious to be a movie star or an Academy Award winner. I just wanted to make a living as an actor because I thought: ‘you go to different places, you get to live the life of different people.’ The great fun thing to me is if I’m playing a heart surgeon, I can get a heart surgeon to let me scrub in for an operation, talk to people who have suffered major brain injuries to share their lives and share their experience and emotions with me. I didn’t have to go to the same place for 25 years and exhaust my life doing one thing. Now I’m ambitious to do the best possible work I can. To continue to learn about my craft, to work with people who will inspire me and who I can trust and who will hold me to the flame so I will give them the best.
FR Si le chapeau va…
Pourquoi ce film sort-il aujourd’hui?
Notre ambition était de le faire il y a environ 12 ans d’ici. Cela a pris du temps pour obtenir l’accord de tout le monde, mais nous y sommes finalement arrivés.
Quelle est la différence entre l’Indy actuel et celui d’il y a 20 ans?
Nous sommes dans un contexte historique différent. Les méchants n’appartiennent plus aux mêmes catégories qu’auparavant et c’est une autre histoire.
L’âge est-il un privilège?
C’est l’activité qui vous garde en forme et nous avons tous une hérédité génétique différente – c’est une question de chance.
Quelle activité pratiquez-vous? Le yoga?
Non, je m’entraîne au club de gym et j’adore jouer au tennis.
Préférez-vous toujours les rôles d’action?
Je suis intéressé par le personnage, pas par son seul côté héroïque mais par un ensemble, tout ce qui compose sa personnalité. C’est ce qui fait que je ne corresponds pas à l’étiquette de ‘héros de films d’action’.
En jouant Indiana Jones, avez-vous dû construire la biographie, la toile de fond du personnage?
Non, ce n’était pas nécessaire, tout se trouvait dans le script.
Qu’avez-vous ressenti lorsque vous avez enfilé le costume?
Il me va parfaitement! Il a été confectionné pour moi il y a 20 ans et il est toujours à ma taille. C’est une sensation agréable.
Comment les anciens ont-ils apprécié la nouvelle équipe?
Nous avons passé un super moment ensemble. Nous avions un merveilleux casting, une merveilleuse équipe; la meilleure que j’ai jamais rencontrée.
Etiez-vous un mentor pour Shia LaBeouf?
Non. Il joue la comédie depuis l’âge de 10 ans. Il sait ce qu’il fait et je ne suis pas un professeur – je travaille aussi ici.
Quels étaient vos acteurs fétiches durant votre jeunesse?
Je ne suis pas un grand passionné de films donc je n’ai jamais fait de ces acteurs mes héros. Mon héros était Abraham Lincoln.
Quelles ambitions aviez-vous lorsque vous avez démarré et quelles sont-elles aujourd’hui?
Lorsque j’ai démarré, mon ambition était de gagner ma vie en tant qu’acteur. Aujourd’hui, mon ambition est de faire le meilleur travail possible.
NL Als het hoedje past …
Hoe ontstond deze film?
We maakten zo’n 12 jaar geleden plannen om er één te maken. Het duurde even voor iedereen instemde, maar uiteindelijk hakten we de knoop toch door.
Wat is het verschil tussen Indy nu en 20 jaar geleden?
We zitten in een andere tijdsperiode. Er is een andere groep slechteriken en het is een ander verhaal.
Is oud zijn een bepaalde houding die je aanneemt?
Bewegen houdt je gezond en we hebben allemaal een andere genstructuur. Je moet gewoon het juiste lotje trekken …
Wat doe je dan? Yoga?
Neen, ik doe aan fitness en speel graag tennis.
Word je aangetrokken door de rol van actiehelden?
Ik ben geïnteresseerd in het personage. Niet in zijn heldhaftige kantje, maar zijn hele persoonlijkheid. Ik wil de badge van ‘actieheld’ dus niet opspelden.
Moest je een voorgeschiedenis opbouwen voor het personage toen je Indiana Jones speelde?
Neen, dat was niet nodig. Het stond op mijn blad.
Wat ging er door je heen toen je het pak aantrok?
Het past! Het werd 20 jaar geleden voor me gemaakt en het past nog steeds. Een fijn gevoel!
Hoe reageerde het oude op het nieuwe team?
We hebben ons geweldig geamuseerd. We hadden een fantastische cast, een fantastische ploeg. De beste die ik ooit heb meegemaakt.
Was je een mentor voor Shia LaBeouf?
Neen. Hij acteert al van toen hij 10 jaar was. Hij weet wat hij doet en ik ben geen leraar. Ik werk daar gewoon.
Wie waren de helden van jouw kindertijd?
Ik ben geen grote filmfanaat, dus keek ik ook niet op naar die jongens. Mijn held was Abraham Lincoln.
Wat waren jouw ambities toen je begon en hoe zien ze er nu uit?
Toen ik begon, droomde ik ervan mijn brood te verdienen met acteren. Nu probeer ik gewoon zo goed mogelijk werk te leveren.
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