Harrison Ford returned to the big screen this summer as Indiana Jones for the fifth time. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny couldn’t replicate the success of the original, but fans loved to see their favorite archeologist in action once again.
Ford is a master of playing characters that transcend generations, and testament to that isn’t just Indiana but also the character of Hans Solo.
The iconic character first appeared in Star Wars (1977). Han was an outlaw turned rebellion leader, who joined Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia Organa in the fight against the Empire. On the screen, Han left Star Wars fans amazed with his personality, and behind the scenes Ford left his co-star in awe with his knowledge.
How Harrison Ford Amazed His Star Wars Co-star Mark Hamill
Star Wars original trilogy was chiefly based around Mark Hamill‘s Luke Skywalker’s fight against the violent Galactic Empire. However, Harrison Ford‘s portrayal of Han – the criminal with a heart of gold – was so brilliant that he quickly established himself as the most popular character of the epic Star Wars saga.
In the last four decades, the Indiana Jones franchise has seen many characters come and go, but Ford has remained the crucial cog across all five movies. Similarly, he also became a vital part of the Star Wars story and ended up doing four more movies after his maiden appearance.
Star Wars is no ordinary franchise, and you need to be a total nerd about every aspect of the space opera to truly grasp creator George Lucas’ vision. Apparently, Ford truly understood what it was all about and impressed his co-star by explaining the same to him during one scene.
Speaking to Seth Meyers on Late Night with Seth Meyers show in 2019, Hamill recalled how once Star Wars was shot out of order, leading to the filming of some scenes that took place after the garbage compactor sequence before the characters ever got into it.
Accordingly, Hamill pointed out that his hair should be dirty (assuming they just went through the trash). This evoked a brilliant response from Ford, which the 71-year-old reenacted through a brilliant impression. He went like (in Ford’s voice): “Hey kid, it ain’t that kind of movie. If people are looking at your hair, we’re all in big trouble.”
Hamill was really impressed with his co-star’s exclamation and all he could do was accept he was absolutely right about the gist of the whole saga.
Mark Hamill Points Out Why Harrison Ford Has Never Directed a Movie
In the same interview, Hamill talked about how director Lucas likes to cast people who are so close to what he wants so that he doesn’t have to give them a lot of direction. In that regard, Ford was perfect because, as per the famous Luke, he “had a really firm grasp, like the overview” of what was going on in the set.
In fact, Hamill thought the young actor at the time showed potential to become a director himself but there was one problem. “I think he’d make a very good director if he weren’t so lazy,” Hamill noted. Jokingly, he asked Meyers’ crew to edit out the remark later.
Indeed, Ford never directed any movie despite spending more than half a century in the industry. Perhaps the decision to remain “lazy” and just focus on acting was an absolute masterclass move, as not many individuals in the industry can boast of leading a top franchise at the age of 81.
Source: Late Night with Seth Meyers
