The blockbuster movie Harrison Ford refused to star in: “This is not for me”
Judging the success of a blockbuster movie often remains elusive until it hits the screen. Many of the greatest films ever made begin as mere ideas in the minds of directors and screenwriters. Even with meticulous planning, last-minute changes can significantly impact the final product. By the 1990s, Steven Spielberg had established himself as a reliable filmmaker, yet Harrison Ford couldn’t envision himself being part of a monumental project like Jurassic Park.
Then again, Ford is the kind of actor who does whatever he wants. Despite playing some of the most iconic characters in cinema, he brings the same sense of gravitas to every single film he makes, whether that’s running from the law in The Fugitive or working his way through the wilderness as Indiana Jones.
And it’s not like he didn’t have a great relationship with Spielberg by the 1990s. He had made some of the biggest blockbusters the world had ever seen with him, and doing something as simple as starring in a screen test for E.T. doesn’t come about for someone who’s just looking to cash a paycheck.
But towards the start of the 1990s, Spielberg had started to leave some of that child-like awe and wonder behind. Since he had films like Saving Private Ryan and Schindler’s List on the horizon, seeing him return to a world where dinosaurs are resurrected and looked after by glorified zookeepers sticks out like a sore thumb in his filmography.
Considering Ford had started moving on to serious roles, Spielberg said that he was met with a firm rejection from the actor, telling Entertainment Weekly, “I went to the art department, and I had them do a photorealistic painting of the T. rex chasing Harrison with two kids and put Harrison’s face on the character of the archaeologist, and sent the script, the book, and the picture to Harrison. The next day, I got a call, and he said, ‘This is not for me, pal.’ That was the end of the conversation.”
At the same time, this wasn’t like asking Ford to make the kind of kid-friendly movies that everyone was used to. Yes, the use of digital animation may have been a bit jarring for the time, but despite it being a more lighthearted affair, Sam Neill plays the role of Dr Grant like someone who is completely fascinated with the idea of science producing a new species of dinosaur.
In fact, that might be the problem. Because let’s think about this: a man invested in his work with historical matters ultimately getting into life-threatening situations to protect them? Yeah, considering Ford had done that less than five years earlier in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, there might have been some fear on his part about getting typecast as the action/adventurer.
While The Fugitive was another thrill ride, casting him as the broken man trying to clear his name after being accused of killing his wife is a lot more enthralling. And if Ford hadn’t taken on that kind of role, who knows whether he would have been able to take risks later down the road like in the Hitchcock-adjacent film What Lies Beneath?.
Ford may have been extremely direct in not wanting to take on Jurassic Park, but sometimes, it’s not about the script being poor. It’s about whether the talent can let that character sink in, and the scholarly adventurer was something that the Indiana Jones star wanted to leave in the past for a while.
