The Martin Scorsese movie that Harrison Ford rejected
Whether your first memory of Harrison Ford was his vest-clad, gun-wielding Han Solo in Star Wars or perhaps his whip-cracking archaeologist Indiana Jones, the actor’s cinematic presence is undoubtedly etched into the minds of most movie lovers.
Through the 1960s, Ford struggled to land any significant roles, although he appeared briefly in a few films that are now highly acclaimed, such as Zabriskie Point. The actor refused to give up, even if it meant temporarily having to put his career on hold to pursue the more profitable endeavour of carpentry instead.
Luckily, Ford ended up securing a part in George Lucas’ American Graffiti, reuniting with him for Star Wars. The sheer cultural impact of the film changed cinema, popularising science-fiction and contributing to the rise of the blockbuster, which emerged with Steven Spielberg’s Jaws a few years earlier.
Through the 1970s, Ford worked with many New Hollywood directors, from Spielberg to Francis Ford Coppola. These directors were concerned with shifting the industry in a more creative and innovative direction, helping to shape the modern state of Hollywood. However, there was one significant New Hollywood figure that Ford had never collaborated with: Martin Scorsese.
Emerging into widespread acclaim with movies such as Mean Streets and Taxi Driver in the 1970s, Scorsese’s films blend careful examinations of themes such as violence, religion, masculinity, and family. While Ford could’ve made a great addition to a Scorsese picture, the pair’s plan to work together in the 1990s fell through.
Ford was set to star in Cape Fear, which starred Robert De Niro as a rapist seeking vengeance on a lawyer. Acting as a remake of the 1962 movie starring Gregory Peck and Robert Mitchum, the movie was successful, although it isn’t usually considered one of Scorsese’s most coveted productions.
However, the movie could’ve looked very different if Ford’s requests to go against the grain and play the villain instead of his usual good-guy archetype were approved. Ford wanted to play De Niro’s violent character, but Scorsese was set on the actor playing the lawyer. With De Niro adamant that he wanted to play the bad guy, Ford stepped away from the project, with Nick Nolte playing the character instead.
Ford told The Irish Times: “The only time [playing the bad guy] came up was when Martin Scorsese was doing Cape Fear. He asked Bob De Niro to ask me to play the lawyer, and I told De Niro that the only way I would be interested in doing that film would be if he played the lawyer and I played his role. Of course, he didn’t want to give up his part.”
Revisit the trailer for Cape Fear below.
