The 1995 movie Harrison Ford admitted he was miscast in: “The role didn’t feel right”
Typecasting and miscasting are two sides of the same coin, in a way. Back when he was one of Hollywood’s most bankable leading men, Harrison Ford rarely felt miscast because he’d been so typecast as a stoic, no-nonsense hero who saved the day and demanded to know where his family was.
You can say the same thing about a lot of stars, to be honest. It’s almost impossible to miscast Jason Statham because he’s been so typecast as Jason Statham, just like Tom Cruise always plays Tom Cruise, Ryan Reynolds always plays Ryan Reynolds, and Michelle Rodriguez always plays Michelle Rodriguez.
For a long time, Ford was among that number, but he thrived. Indiana Jones, Han Solo, Rick Deckard, Witness‘ John Book, The Fugitive‘s Richard Kimble, Air Force One‘s James Marshall, and Jack Ryan were all cut from a very similar cloth, but because he was such a popular star, audiences didn’t mind.
Ironically, when he tried to go against the grain as Allie Fox in The Mosquito Coast, not many people cared. Except Ford, who mounted a passionate defence of Peter Weir’s film, and insisted that the critics were wrong. A decade later, he did much the same thing again, but this time, he was nowhere near as thrilled with the results.
Remaking classic movies has always felt like one of the industry’s most pointless endeavours, but Sydney Pollack didn’t give a shit when he mounted a new version of Billy Wilder’s 1954 favourite, Sabrina. Humphrey Bogart’s shoes are a pair of the biggest to fill, but Ford nonetheless committed to becoming the new, and definitely not improved, Linus Larrabee.
The leading man went into the production with the best of intentions, knowing that it was a rare opportunity to break away from his action hero persona that he couldn’t resist. “I wanted to do a romance,” he explained at the time. “I wanted a change of pace; a romance and a comedy. This is one of the best.”
The first time he played a romantic lead, it didn’t work out too well for him, and he savaged the results. The second time around, things were much the same, although many within the industry disagreed with Ford’s assessment, seeing as he clocked a Golden Globe nomination for ‘Best Actor – Musical or Comedy’.
Three decades later, the Star Wars legend was reflecting on the most challenging roles of his career, and one of them stood out like a sore thumb. “I’d have to go back to where I didn’t feel I was right for the role,” he mused. “The thing that comes to mind is Sabrina with Sydney Pollack. We got along great, but the role didn’t feel right.”
Hindsight will always remain undefeated, and even though it was an award-nominated turn in a warmly received picture that turned a small profit at the box office, Ford remains convinced that trying to emulate Bogart wasn’t one of his most inspired artistic decisions, and he’s right.
