Harrison Ford is one of the most legendary veterans working in the industry at the moment. He has been the face of many iconic characters in pop culture history including Han Solo in Stars, and the archaeologist Indiana Jones in the eponymous films. He will be appearing as Thaddeus Ross in the MCU’s Captain America: Brave New World.
In his six-decade career, Ford has played multiple roles but has also been offered many other roles that he has rejected. While the reasons may range from scheduling conflicts to him not liking the character or film, he has turned down many roles that soon became classics. One of his most recent was an important character in Pedro Pascal’s acclaimed HBO series The Last Of Us.
Also read: Nicolas Cage “Not really down” to Join $10 Billion Pedro Pascal Franchise
Harrison Ford Turned Down The Role Of Bill In The Last Of Us
The Pedro Pascal starrer The Last Of Us was released to rave reviews early last year and was regarded as one of the best video game adaptations ever. Based on the popular game of the same name by Naughty Dog, the drama series was set twenty years after a pandemic caused by a fungal infection that caused the affected to turn into zombie-like creatures.
Pascal starred as Joel, who is tasked with escorting an immune child named Ellie across the USA. The show starred many major supporting characters that were important for the plot, including Nick Offerman’s Bill. Bill is a survivor whose distrust of the Government makes him prepared for a pandemic. He is incredibly paranoid and is described as a misanthrope.
Offerman won the Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series for his role as Bill. The actor mentioned to Deadline that he was happy about the win and that he would love to reprise the character in future seasons (although the character dies along with his partner Frank in the show).
He also mentioned that the role was offered to Harrison Ford before him,
“I think we pitched a whole mini-series of a prequel of their lives before they met each other…We’ll just we’ll see what Craig [Mazin] and Neil [Druckmann] come up with…I was lucky this time. They needed a guy who could use a shovel. Three of us in Hollywood, Harrison Ford passed and Jane Lynch was not available.”
While Nick Offerman might have joked about Ford’s involvement in the show, it might not be impossible since he already appeared once in the Yellowstone spinoff series 1923.
Harrison Ford Has Turned Down Many Roles In The Past
Harrison Ford playing the misanthrope Bill might be the perfect dream now, despite Nick Offerman’s harrowing performance. The reasons for Ford rejecting the role are unknown but the veteran has been known to turn down roles that have eventually gone on to become iconic.
Harrison Ford reportedly turned down the role of Oskar Schindler in Steven Spielberg’s World War II masterpiece Schindler’s List. The actor had collaborated with Spielberg on four Indiana Jones films (three till then) and was offered the role but reportedly turned it down stating that a non-Jewish actor should portray the role. Liam Neeson was chosen instead.
Ford also turned down the role of Robert Wakefield in Steven Soderbergh’s Traffic, a role which would go to Michael Douglas. Harrison Ford reportedly worked with Soderbergh on the character but then had to pass. He later rejected another role written by screenwriter Stephen Gaghan in his war drama Syriana. He claimed that it was his biggest regret. George Clooney went on to win an Academy Award for the film.
