How Harrison Ford trained River Phoenix to become Indiana Jones
As an eminent actor of the so-called New Hollywood era, Harrison Ford has been lucky enough to work with some of the most esteemed filmmakers of all time, including Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Francis Ford Coppola, Ridley Scott, Peter Weir, Roman Polanski and Mike Nichols.
Ford’s most memorable and lucrative work resides in franchises, specifically those helmed by George Lucas and Steven Spielberg. With central roles in the original run of Star Wars and Indiana Jones, Ford secured immortal status as a cultural icon and a wallet-ripping cash flow. Over the years, his movies have grossed over $5.4billion in North America and more than $9.3billion worldwide, making him the seventh-highest-grossing actor ever. Just over half of Ford’s career earnings from a total of 52 movies came from the eight Star Wars and Indiana Jones releases in which he was cast.
Throughout the 1980s, Harrison Ford appeared in the original trilogy of Indiana Jones, which began in 1981 with Raiders of the Lost Ark and concluded with 1989’s The Last Crusade. The latter co-starred the legendary Sean Connery and the rising star River Phoenix, who played the young version of Ford’s Indiana Jones in a flashback to his days as a Boy Scout in 1912.
By the time Phoenix was cast in The Last Crusade, he had already broken through as one of Hollywood’s promising new teen stars, thanks to his role in Rob Reiner’s 1986 adventure classic Stand By Me. That same year, Phoenix also starred in the lesser-known movie The Mosquito Coast alongside Ford.
“He was obviously going to be a movie star,” the movie’s director Peter Weir reflected in a 1993 quote obtained by The Independent. “It’s something apart from acting ability. Laurence Olivier never had what River had.”
In the behind-the-scenes documentary for The Last Crusade, Phoenix revealed that he had begun impersonating Ford’s mannerisms and acting style while shooting The Mosquito Coast some three years prior. “I kind of had some insight on Harrison’s way about him, being that I worked with him on The Mosquito Coast. And while doing Mosquito Coast, I kept a close eye on Harrison, and I noticed some of his traits, and when he would turn around, I would sometimes mimic him and get a few laughs.”
Just a couple of years later, these jovial impersonations proved profitable when Phoenix was commissioned by the one and only Spielberg to do just that. Spielberg tried a hands-off approach for this movie, allowing Phoenix to assert his distinctive character. Intriguingly, he was allowed to keep his Kurt Cobain-esque hairstyle, which was inconsistent with your average 1910s Boy Scout.
While Spielberg allowed Phoenix to assert his essence, he had to present Indiana Jones’ defining mannerisms. Therefore, Spielberg asked Ford to mentor and direct Phoenix for a week while on set to ensure success. “I wanted to make sure he got the moves right,” Ford said in Robert Sellers’ 1993 book Harrison Ford: A Biography.
As Phoenix’s performance in The Last Crusade clip below attests, Ford was a successful mentor. Phoenix, who had already earned an Academy Award nomination for his supporting role in Running on Empty, was set for a bright future. Tragically, this future was cut short when, in October 1993, the 23-year-old actor died from a combined drug overdose.
