Since their collaboration in the 1997 movie The Devil’s Own, rumors about a simmering feud between Harrison Ford and Brad Pitt have been doing rounds. However, unveiling the mystery surrounding their dynamic, the Hollywood actors addressed the speculation head-on.
In The Devil’s Own, Ford portrayed the role of an Irish American police officer while Pitt was seen as an IRA terrorist posing as an immigrant. However, apart from their on-screen clashes and tensions, there were some not-so-friendly incidents off the screen.
Harrison Ford opened up about what exactly strained his relationship with Brad Pitt
In his conversation with Esquire, Harrison Ford revealed how the movie’s script became the reason for his complex and strained relationship with Brad Pitt. Acknowledging that the two actors had “differing ideas,” Ford revealed that Pitt had initially developed the script and later approached him for the role.
“Brad developed the script. Then they offered me the part. I saved my comments about the character and the construction of the thing — I admired Brad. First of all, I admire Brad. I think he’s a wonderful actor. He’s a really decent guy. But we couldn’t agree on a director until we came to Alan Pakula, who I had worked with before but Brad had not.”
However, since Ford also had some reservations about his character and the structure of the story, he decided to approach a writer. While talking about a particular scene where Ford’s character witnesses a fellow police officer fatally shooting someone, he added.
“Brad had this complicated character, and I wanted a complication on my side so that it wasn’t just a good-and-evil battle. And that’s when I came up with the bad-shooting thing. I worked with a writer — but then all the sudden we’re shooting and we didn’t have a script that Brad and I agreed on.”
Furthermore, Ford revealed that this led to the two actors having very different ideas about the script in their minds. While Ford wanted to stick to his point of view and Pitt to his, their creative differences led to a strained relationship. Although The Indiana Jones actor reiterated that he loves the $140 million-grossing The Devil’s Own very much, he shared that he understands why Pitt might have felt that Ford was trying to ‘impose’ his point of view.
When Brad Pitt openly disparaged the movie in an interview
The Devil’s Own indeed explored the grey area of moral dichotomy with a multilayered character of an IRS terrorist portrayed by Pitt. However, unhappy with the direction in which the project steered, the Fury actor openly criticized the movie. Upon its release, in an interview with Newsweek, Pitt described the movie as “the most irresponsible bit of filmmaking – if you can even call it that – that I’ve ever seen.”
However, later adjusting his stance on the subject, the Fight Club actor stated in a Rolling Stone interview, “It was the hardest film I’ve ever been on,” while refuting any rumors of him not getting along with his co-star.
And now, nearly thirty years later, Ford’s comments explain Pitt’s earlier admission of challenges on set. Interestingly, Ford and Pitt have not collaborated on any other project in the past 26 years. But can Ford’s recent comments finally help the two put all the bitterness behind them?
Source: Far Out Magazine
