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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“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
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Joy star James Norton on the ‘postcode lottery’ of IVF – and playing the scientist who was part of creating the first ‘test-tube baby’
Actor James Norton, who stars in a new film telling the story of the world’s first “test-tube baby”, has criticised how “prohibitively expensive” IVF can be in the UK.
In Joy, the star portrays the real-life scientist Bob Edwards, who – along with obstetrician Patrick Steptoe and embryologist Jean Purdy – spent a decade tirelessly working on medical ways to help infertility.
The film charts the 10 years leading up to the birth of Louise Joy Brown, who was dubbed the world’s first test-tube baby, in 1978.
In the UK, statistics show the proportion of IVF cycles paid for by the NHS has dropped from 40% to 27% in the last decade
Norton, who is best known for playing Tommy Lee Royce in the BAFTA-winning series Happy Valley, told Sky News he has friends who were IVF babies and other friends who have had their own children thanks to the fertility treatment.
“But I didn’t know about these three scientists and their sacrifice, tenacity and skill,” he said. The star hopes the film will be “a catalyst for conversation” about the treatment and its availability.
“We know for a fact that Jean, Bob and Patrick would not have liked the fact that IVF is now so means based,” he said. “It’s prohibitively expensive for some… and there is a postcode lottery which means that some people are precluded from that opportunity.”
Bill Nighy, Thomasin McKenzie and James Norton star in Joy. All pics: Netflix/ Kerry Brown
Now, IVF is considered a wonder of modern medicine. More than 12 million people owe their existence today to the treatment Edwards, Steptoe and Purdy worked so hard to devise.
But Joy shows how public backlash in the years leading up to Louise’s birth saw the team vilified – accused of playing God and creating “Frankenstein babies”.
Bill Nighy and Thomasin McKenzie star alongside Norton, with the script written by acclaimed screenwriter Jack Thorne and his wife Rachel Mason.
The couple went through seven rounds of IVF themselves to conceive their son.
Norton portrays scientist Bob Edwards, while McKenzie plays embryologist Jean Purdy
While the film is set in the 1970s, the reality is that societal pressures haven’t changed all that much for many going through IVF today – with the costs now both emotional and financial.
“IVF is still seen as a luxury product, as something that some people get access to and others don’t,” said Thorne, speaking about their experiences in the UK.
“Louise was a working-class girl with working-class parents. Working class IVF babies are very, very rare now.”
In the run-up to the US election, Donald Trump saw IVF as a campaigning point – promising his government, or insurance companies, would pay for the treatment for all women should he be elected. He called himself the “father of IVF” at a campaign event – a remark described as “quite bizarre” by Kamala Harris.
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Bill Nighy ‘proud’ of new film on IVF breakthrough
“I don’t think Trump is a blueprint for this,” Norton said. “I don’t know how that fits alongside his questions around pro-choice.”
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In the UK, statistics from fertility regulator HEFA show the proportion of IVF cycles paid for by the NHS has dropped from 40% to 27% in the last decade.
“It’s so expensive,” Norton said. “Those who want a child should have that choice… and some people’s lack of access to this incredibly important science actually means that people don’t have the choice.”
Joy is in UK cinemas from 15 November, and on Netflix from 22 November
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