It appears that Harrison Ford built his career upon roles that were passed on by other famous actors. Be it his breakout role as Han Solo or his adventurous hero role in Indiana Jones, Ford was not the first choice for these roles. Interestingly, he was also not the first choice for another action role that the audiences loved him for. Ford’s role as President Marshall in Air Force One was initially offered to Kevin Costner.
Costner asked the producers to specifically give the role to the Star Wars actor when he dropped out due to his other commitments. Ford and Costner weren’t exactly best friends which made the Yellowstone actor’s move a very generous one.
Harrison Ford Got Air Force One Role All Thanks To Kevin Costner
Harrison Ford‘s POTUS role in Air Force One still has a large fan base. It’s not every day that movie viewers get to see the President kicking some ass to save his people. Ford gave a stellar performance in the film directed by Wolfgang Petersen, but he was not the film’s first choice for the role. Kevin Costner turned down the offer to play President James Marshall in the film.
Costner was busy at the time with The Postman, a post-apocalyptic thriller directed by the actor himself. However, before turning down Air Force One owing to his commitments, Costner suggested another actor who would be most suitable for the role in the film. In a cover story for The Los Angeles Times in 1997, Ford revealed that it was the Dances with Wolves star who threw the blockbuster film his way.
Ford shared that Costner knew the production value of this project but couldn’t commit to it due to his schedule. He revealed that Costner demanded the producers to cast the Blade Runner actor in the role. Ford shared with The Los Angeles Times:
“This was a script that Kevin Costner originally had, and he gave it to me. Kevin knew this was a big commercial movie, but his schedule didn’t allow him to do it. And he told [the producers] he would let it go only if I could do it.”
According to Box Office Mojo, Air Force One grossed $315.2 million at the global box office and became the fifth highest-grossing film of 1997. However, Costner’s project The Postman was a big dud as it collected only $20.8 million against a massive budget of $80 million (via Box Office Mojo).
Harrison Ford Will Never Forget Kevin Costner’s Generous Act
While Harrison Ford plays the ancestor Jacob Dutton of Kevin Costner’s John Dutton in the Yellowstone spinoff, 1923, the two aren’t exactly close. Ford revealed in his interview that he and Costner didn’t have an intimate friendship at the time. They only met on a couple of occasions and he was a fan of his works. However, Costner’s act of throwing the offer his way made Ford like him a lot more. Ford shared:
“Now Kevin and I are not intimates. I’ve met him on a number of occasions, and I like him very much. I like him a lot more now because he really threw a winner my way.”
Harrison Ford sure took the role in the Yellowstone spinoff quite happily as he was okay with the series not having a script. He told The Hollywood Reporter at the time that he had faith in the people who created the project to deliver him a good script. He also added that his role as Costner’s ancestor in 1923 was a lot of work and he believed that it was absolutely worth it.
Air Force One is available for streaming on Fubo, while 1923 is now available for streaming on Paramount+.
