Revisit Carrie Fisher roasting Harrison Ford
When George Lucas delivered the first instalment of Star Wars, his 1977 sci-fi epic, nobody, not even those involved with the film, could have foretold how momentous it would prove to be. Also known as A New Hope, the movie became a blockbuster, which kicked off a cultural phenomenon, delivering a host of iconic characters, worlds and lines, as well as myriad merchandise that established the project as one of the most successful franchises of all time. Much of why the original trilogy remains so omnipresent is due to the quality of the acting, with props going to stars Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher.
The chemistry between the trio was almost palpable as they emerged as icons seemingly overnight. Whilst Hamill is a Hollywood legend in his own right, the relationship between Ford and Fisher became one of the trilogy’s greatest talking points. As their characters, Han Solo and Princess Leia, engaged in a romance on screen, to many viewers, it was so authentic that rumours of an affair abounded from the get-go.
Although there was no factual evidence of a tryst, the mainstream media obsessed over the rumour for years. However, it eventually emerged that an affair did occur between the 33-year-old – and married – Ford and Fisher, who was 19 at the time. She made the long-awaited reveal during her final memoir, 2016’s The Princess Diarist.
The pair kept the romance to themselves for 40 years, and when appearing on the Today Show, Fisher explained that it was primarily sexual. She likened it to a “three-month one-night stand”. Feeling remorse about their fling initiated by Ford, she recalled: “I wasn’t raised that way, but when you’re on location – this is something I discovered – everything is permitted”.
As fans now know well, the romance between the pair eventually fizzled out. However, Ford and Fisher shared a deep respect and love for one another that lasted until her death in 2016. Whilst she spoke about their relationship on numerous occasions throughout her career, one of her most glowing accounts came in the form of her roast-cum-salute of Ford at the 28th AFI Life Achievement Award: A Tribute To Harrison Ford in 2000.
Starting her piece, Fisher said: “Hi, my name is Carrie, and I’m an alcoholic. Oh, oh, sorry, wrong group. Well, actually, maybe not. Whenever I start to talk, Harrison gets nervous. And you really should stop getting so nervous, because it turns out I have a terrible memory – which should relax a lot of people in this room. When I first saw Harrison on the set of Star Wars, he struck me as, I don’t know, epic, in a way. He had that icon energy, he had that Tracy/Bogart thing. I was 19, and he was 63. But, but, he looked 33 – or under.”
She continued: “Well, I became completely infatuated with him, it was like a High School crush, which was weird for a dropout. But I became obsessed with Harrison long before it became fashionable; I was a real trendsetter in that sense. I started a craze.”
Switching the focus, Fisher explained: “But the guy is not just a pretty face. He majored in philosophy in college, and he would quote philosophers in interviews: ‘With this film, you have to take a giant leap of faith’. I was totally dazzled. I wanted to quote philosophers in my interviews. So, when I got back home, I started getting tutored in philosophy.”
Delivering her showstopper, Fisher said: “I think Nietzsche had Harrison in mind when he said…” before breaking into some incomprehensible words that amounted to complete gibberish. Concluding, Fisher left the audience with a quip about the nature of their relationship: “You may not know this, but Harrison hated love scenes. Well, actually, I think you just hated them with me. I thought we were much better arguers.”
