The “complete ass” of a co-star Harrison Ford was thrilled not work with again
Hollywood can certainly be a place of artistic community, built on supporting one another to achieve a shared dream. But what happens when two of those pillars of construction have completely different foundations can be cataclysmic to the success of the project. This is why an actor like Harrison Ford has always cherished the safety of structure.
Ford might well have given a certain sense of charisma to all of his roles, imbuing almost every performance with the kind of suave swagger usually reserved for cartoon characters, but he was able to deliver personable charm because of the solid acting foundations he had given himself. He was always prepared, sure the cast and crew were on board, and most importantly, rejected the notion of chaos.
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is a perfect representation of this vehicle in motion. Ford, having long established himself as the swoon-inducing archaeologist Jones, was returning to the character, comfortable in the knowledge that he would be able to deliver his performance, gain some box office ticket sales, provide an entertaining movie and move along. It’s the kind of picture that doesn’t require too much in the way of emotional arc and relies most heavily on the action and nostalgia factor to sell seats at the cinema. For a whole host of actors, this paycheque would have been an easy one to cash. Enter Shia LaBeouf.
LaBeouf is the complete opposite of Ford’s steady ship. An actor who is solely reliant on the emotional embellishment he puts on to a role to achieve the acting outcome he desires, LaBeouf and Ford were about as diametrically opposed to one another as one can imagine. The younger actor, though not entirely confirmed as a student in the method theory, has certainly always borrowed from the ideas behind it, and thrown himself and his emotional past into every role he has ever had. They clashed from the first rehearsal.
According to Red Carpet Tales, stunt coordinator, Vic Armstrong, notably shared their differences: “Harrison treats every scene like precision engineering. Shia treated every moment like an emotional archaeological dig. They were working from completely different philosophical frameworks about what acting should accomplish.” LaBeouf’s preparation would begin to affect the cast and crew, which in turn left Ford willing to address the youngster and try to have him see the need for an agreed structure within which to work.
This came to a head when during a scene between the two actors, LaBeouf would routinely improvise on his original lines, leaving Ford confused about how to proceed. The two fell out on set and left onlookers witnessing the two men struggling to understand one another. It was noted by all on the shoot that once LaBeouf was wrapped, his scenes finished and his on-set trailer towed, Ford was noticeably relieved. Some onlookers apparently suggested he looked like he had survived a storm.
Director Frank Marshall summed it up when he noted: “There’s a difference between commitment to character and commitment to chaos, and Harrison won’t enable the latter.”
During the post-filming promotional run, Ford would continue to show his displeasure with working with LaBeouf, “I think I told him he was a fucking idiot,” Ford told Details magazine after it became clear that LaBeouf was bad-mouthing their ill-fated project, claiming the group involved had “dropped the ball”. Perhaps what had annoyed him most was that Ford was also brought into the picture, with the young actor suggesting the veteran “wasn’t happy with it either”.
“As an actor, I think it’s my obligation to support the film without making a complete ass of myself,” he continued. Though he did offer some kind words, “Shia is ambitious, attentive and talented—and he’s learning how to deal with a situation which is very unique and difficult”. While he might have appreciated the young actor and understood that growth takes time, it was clear by the end of Indiana Jones that Ford didn’t want to consider working with Shia LaBeouf again.
