(Credits: Far Out / YouTube Still)
Harrison Ford isn’t known for his gregarious charm or accessibility with fans. Like Ridley Scott, he seems to have grown more cantankerous with age, batting down questions in interviews with devastating disinterest. His fans have tried to give him the benefit of the doubt, even suggesting that his curtness during talk show appearances stems from social anxiety. When asked about this theory in one of those dreaded talk shows, however, Ford snapped that metaphorical olive branch, saying that he simply abhorred boring situations.
It isn’t just the accumulated fatigue of decades in the film industry, either. Ford has been publicly shutting people down since the beginning of his career. All in all, it makes him a pretty intimidating celebrity. No matter how much you love Star Wars or Indiana Jones, you’d have to be pretty brave (or blissfully out of the loop) to approach him.
During all his years of cantankerous stardom, Ford has only ever been outranked and out-manoeuvred by one actor. In 1989, Sean Connery joined the cast of the Indiana Jones franchise to play Indie’s dad, Henry Walton Jones, Sr, and although he was new on the scene, he wasted no time in showing Ford who was boss.
When paying tribute to the James Bond star in 2009 while presenting him with the American Film Institute’s ‘Life Achievement Award,’ Ford said, “Sean did not – does not – just show up and read the lines. He brought ideas to the table – good ideas about plot and character, about the movie. For those of us who make movies, technically speaking, this is called being a pain in the ass, but for those of us who love movies, that passion, that wisdom is the reason we are here tonight.”
Connery had very particular ideas about his character. Early on in the production, he approached Steven Spielberg and George Lucas to set the record straight about who Dr Jones was and how they needed to adjust the script. “Look, I’m his father,” Ford remembered him saying. “Whatever he’s done, I did it first, and I did it better.”
This was reflected in the script. The two Jones men have a troubled relationship. Indie has a chip on his shoulder about how his dad seemed to prefer his work as a historian over being a parent, and Dr Jones senior doesn’t seem particularly impressed by his son’s illustrious career. Eventually, however, they find mutual respect, and Connery’s character finally starts referring to his son as “Indiana” rather than “Junior”.
According to Ford, that relationship arc was mirrored off-screen. “We endure [our fathers],” he said. “We’re tested by them, and then as we grow older, we gain a whole new level of respect and admiration for them. That’s the nature of the relationship between Indiana Jones and his father, and as I stand here before you tonight, older and wiser, it reflects how I’ve come to feel about you, Sean.”
By all accounts, Connery walked the walk when it came to being a man’s man. Paul Newman even came to view him as the toughest person on planet Earth. It’s hardly surprising that it would take a star of his stature and intrinsic impressiveness to tame Ford’s usual gruff demeanour.
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