Indiana Jones' Costume Gave Harrison Ford Permanent Scars
Part of the filmmaking history of the "Indiana Jones" saga is the painful footage of watching Harrison Ford staplegun his character's famed fedora to his head to prevent the hat from flying off during the shooting of the 1981 classic "Raiders of the Lost Ark." Now, more than four decades after the release of the film, Ford is showing off some the lasting effects of his unorthodox method of keeping his hat in place.
"I still have the [scars]. See it?" Ford asks an interviewer, pointing to his hairline in a new GQ video chronicling the actor's work in the "Indiana Jones" movies. "You do what you need to do."
Ford, of course, is answering questions about all things Indy since the long-awaited fifth and final adventure in the saga, "Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny," arrived in theaters. During the interview, he recalled how he called into question some of the key elements that came to define the character of Indy, from his fedora and leather jacket to his whip.
Recalling Indy's costume, Ford said, "It was presented to me as an aspect of character in the first film. My questions about it were many. 'Why am I wearing a leather jacket in the jungle? Isn't it hot here? Why am I carrying a whip? What am I going to do with a f***ing whip? I'm going to whip people?'"
Ford did understand, however, the meaning of the hat, explaining, "It's an evocation of a time period ... a reflection of movies past." Not surprisingly, Indy's fedora, leather jacket, and whip remained with the actor throughout the saga and in "The Dial of Destiny," a movie, fittingly, about the passage of time.
Ford suffered his fair share of injuries playing Indy
Harrison Ford's video interview with GQ includes archive footage from the set of the 1984 classic "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom." In the footage, director Steven Spielberg describes how Ford threw his back out when Indy flips a Thuggee temple guard over his left shoulder during a fight scene, adding, "He let out a call for help at that point." From there, Spielberg is shown announcing on set, "The good news is, Harrison Ford is fine. He feels great. His enzyme papaya treatment worked fantastically well."
Asked about the "papaya treatment" Ford received to treat his injury, the actor replied, "Well, they stopped doing them about 30 years ago because they were dissolving people's spinal columns. Mine's intact."
Ford's back injury was actually preceded by another mishap while filming "Raiders of the Lost Ark," during the scene where Indy fights a lumbering German mechanic. "'Raiders' was the ACL [injury after I was] run over the by flying wing in Tunisia," he said. "Collection was done in the stunt department to figure out how I might be able to work the next day."
Ford's last hurrah as Indy didn't leave him unscathed. He suffered an injury while filming "Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny," which caused the production to shuffle shooting schedules. Disney said the actor suffered an injury to his shoulder while rehearsing a fight scene. Less dangerous on the set, though, were the fun and games Ford had with his co-stars, like the prank that ended with him wearing a Phoebe Waller-Bridge mask.
"Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny" is playing in theaters.