Harrison Ford on playing Indiana Jones for four decades: ‘It’s kind of silly’
Harrison Ford has told Sky News that playing a character who spans generations has been a “boon” to his career.
The star returns as Indiana Jones for the fifth and final time in Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny.
Speaking at the UK premiere for the film he explained how special the role has been to him.
“There aren’t too many roles that anybody plays for so long,” he admitted.
“I mean, it’s kind of silly, it’s 42 years we’ve been going on with this. But the reason for that, I think, is because these are family films and they’re passed on from generation to generation of young people when their parents feel it’s the right time.
“And that’s exposed me, and this film, and these characters, to a new generation of [audiences] and that’s been a boon to my career.”
The film is out in cinemas on Wednesday – and, as a Disney property, will make its way to Disney Plus in the future.
But Ford doesn’t want to people to wait – and hopes most will experience it in cinemas before watching it on TV.
“I want people to go to the theatre and see this movie – for the first time at least,” he said.
“A place away from their lives where they can enjoy the incredible experience with strangers because it just strips away the differences when we’re watching the same thing and feeling the same thing.
“There’s no conflict, it’s a way to feel your common humanity and expose your children to an experience with people you’re not mad at or scared of.”
‘It’s very meaningful’
For those joining the franchise, the opportunity – and privilege – to work on Ford’s last “Indi” isn’t lost on them.
“It had a real gravitas, the whole experience, actually,” Phoebe Waller-Bridge, who plays the archaeologist’s god-daughter, told Sky News.
“And even when we were doing the sort of madcap fun stuff every now and again, it would hit us that this is the last adventure he’s going to go on.
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‘Can you please stop smiling?’
“It’s very meaningful, and I think it’s very obvious how meaningful it is to Harrison – we were all on that journey with him, so it’s a real privilege.”
While Mads Mikkelsen, who plays the villain of the film, says that during filming there were some moments that left everyone feeling a bit teary.
“When he hung up his hat it was quite emotional for all of us,” he explained.
“We were all there for the last take, the last scene, and so we applauded and, humble as he is, he just wants to leave, he just wants to get out of there.
“But it was a big part of him that wanted to stay there for a thousand years as well, so that was quite beautiful.”
Mads Mikkelsen, Harrison Ford, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, James Mangold and John Rhys-Davies at the UK premiere on Monday
The End?
While there is no doubt Ford is leaving the franchise, there does seem to be a question mark over whether it’s really the last time we’ll hear from Indiana Jones altogether.
The adventurer certainly has form for returning – 1989’s Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade even had the word “last” in the title, but still wasn’t the final film.
With Waller-Bridge’s character having such a big part in this new movie, she seems like an obvious choice to perhaps carry the films forward.
But the actress herself isn’t so sure.
“Oh no, I took this film because I wanted to be in THIS film,” she said.
Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny is out in UK cinemas on Wednesday
Angelina Jolie says although she appreciates being an artist, she would prefer for her legacy to be “a good mother” and to be known for her “belief in equality and human rights”.
The Oscar-winning actress stars as Maria Callas in the new Pablo Larrain film about the opera singer’s life.
Pic: StudioCanal
She has called Maria “the hardest” and “most challenging” role she has had in her career and put months of preparation into immersing herself into the world of opera.
Jolie, who recently reached a divorce settlement with actor Brad Pitt, told Sky News: “To be very candid, it was the therapy I didn’t realise I needed. I had no idea how much I was holding in and not letting out.
“So, the challenge wasn’t the technical [side of opera], it was an emotional experience to find my voice, to be in my body, to express. You have to give every single part of yourself.”
The biopic combines the voice of the Maleficent actress with recordings of Maria Callas.
Jolie believes it “would be a crime to not have [Callas’] voice through this because, in many ways, she is very present in this film”.
Who was Maria Callas?
Born in New York in 1923, Maria Callas was the daughter of Greek immigrants who moved back to Athens at the age of 13 with her mother and sister.
After enrolling at the Athens Conservatory, she made her professional debut at 17 and went on to become one of the most famous faces of opera, travelling around the world and performing at Covent Garden in London, The Met in New York and La Scala in Milan.
Callas’s final operatic performance took place at Covent Garden in 1965 when she was 41 but she continued to work conducting master classes at Juilliard School, doing concert tours and starring in the 1969 film Medea.
Written by Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight, Maria focuses on the artist’s final years in the 1970s when she moved to Paris and disappeared from public view.
She died on 16 September 1977 at the age of 53.
Pic: StudioCanal
Jolie on changing motivations as an actor
Maria follows the life of an artist fully consumed by the art she creates and even remarks that “happiness never developed a beautiful melody”.
Reflecting on her own life in the spotlight, Jolie said she noticed her own career motivations change over the years.
“There’s this kind of study of being human that we do when we create, and we communicate with an audience because our work is not in isolation – it’s a connection.
“I think when I was younger, I had different questions about being human and different feelings and now as I’ve gotten older, I understand some things and now I have different questions.
“It’s a matter of life, right? And so maybe that’s interesting that this now is a character really contemplating death and really contemplating the toll of certain things in life that I, of course, couldn’t have understood in my 20s”.
Jolie at the New York Film Festival in September with three of her children (L-R) Pax, Zahara and Maddox. Pic: AP
A family affair
Two of Jolie’s children, Maddox and Pax, took on production assistant roles during the filming of Maria and witnessed their mother perform opera for the first time in public.
She says the film allowed them to create new experiences together and for her children to see her approach to playing a difficult role.
“Everyone in my home, we all give each other space to be who we are and we’re all different.
“I’m the mom, but I’m also an artist and a person and so my family has been very kind and gives me their understanding. They make fun of me, and they support me and just as you’d hope it would be.”
She adds: “When you play somebody who is dealing with so much pain, it’s very important to come home to some kindness.”
Maria is in cinemas now.
Tom Holland’s dad has confirmed his son’s engagement to Zendaya – revealing how the 28-year-old meticulously planned the proposal.
Zendaya, also 28, sparked engagement rumours when she attended last Sunday’s Golden Globes wearing a sparkling diamond on her ring finger.
Neither star has publicly addressed the rumours but Tom’s comedian father, Dominic Holland, has now confirmed the pair are set to wed.
He wrote in a post on his Patreon account: “Tom, as you know by now was very incredibly well prepared. He had purchased a ring.
“He had spoken with her father and gained permission to propose to his daughter.”
“Tom had everything planned out… When, where, how, what to say, what to wear,” he added.
Zendaya arrived at the Golden Globes with a noticeable piece of new jewellery. Pic: Invision/AP
Dominic also noted that while most men worry about being able to afford an engagement ring, he suspects his actor son was “more concerned with the stone, its size and clarity, its housing, which jeweller”.
Tom and Zendaya met on the set of Spider-Man: Homecoming in 2016, when they played the titular hero and his love interest MJ, respectively. Their romance was confirmed in 2021.
In his post, Tom’s father admitted fears over whether being in the spotlight could put a strain on the couple’s relationship.
He wrote: “I do fret that their combined stardom will amplify their spotlight and the commensurate demands on them and yet they continually confound me by handling everything with aplomb.”
“And even though show business is a messy place for relationships and particularly so for famous couples as they crash and burn in public and are too numerous to mention […] yet somehow right at the same time, I am completely confident they will make a successful union.”
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Zendaya rose to fame after landing a role in Disney sitcom Shake It Up, and became a household name after starring in Euphoria.
Holland – who has starred in three Spider-Man films opposite his now-fiancée – made his stage debut in Billy Elliot the Musical in 2008.
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