Shooting 1923 Was A Major Departure From Star Wars And Indiana Jones For Harrison Ford
Harrison Ford is a living legend, having played such culturally iconic characters as Indiana Jones and Han Solo in the blockbuster "Star Wars" franchise. Both roles have come to define his career, which spans an impressive six decades.
Now, Ford is hoping to add another memorable character to his résumé by portraying Jacob Dutton on the "Yellowstone" prequel "1923," which will premiere December 18 on Paramount+. As Jacob, Ford is taking over where the previous origin story "1883" left off, acquiring the Yellowstone ranch from brother James Dutton (Tim McGraw) and becoming the connective tissue to the modern-day "Yellowstone" storyline.
It's a role Ford calls one of his most ambitious to date, perhaps because it's a departure from sci-fi and action films like "Star Wars" and "Indiana Jones," which aren't necessarily based on reality. It's a subject Ford briefly spoke about during a recent roundtable interview that included Looper as he helped promote "1923."
The 'sense of reality' makes 1923 different from his other projects
Making the leap from film to TV was easy for Harrison Ford, who sees lofty television series like "1923" as equals to film. "We used to think of television as having less ambition, perhaps, than feature films," he said. "It's no longer the case at all ... We have the technical capacity and ambition to shoot this in a way as if it was a feature film. It's quite beautiful to look at. I'm thrilled with the whole project."
Ford also talked about how "1923" compares to his other high-profile projects, saying that on the "Yellowstone" prequel, there is more outdoor shooting done in actual settings, as opposed to the manufactured ones required for the "Star Wars" or "Indiana Jones" films. "So there's a sense of reality there. The minute you walk out into that cold in your '1923 costume,' you begin to understand what the real life of a cowboy is like," he said.
For Ford, costume is one of the more important aspects of bringing a character to life, from Han Solo to Jacob Dutton. "There are many important aspects of the creation of a character," he said. "The first one that comes to you when you've agreed to play a character is the physical expression of his characteristics, the costume." He wrapped up by saying that finding the right costume for his character is an important part of understanding their traits and motivations as people.
"1923" will premiere on December 18 on Paramount+.