The iconic Harrison Ford role almost played by Dustin Hoffman: “It just fell out of being”
Given his slate of projects, there was once a time when Harrison Ford was the obvious go-to for any leading role in an action movie, with the actor being the leading man of a generation through his portrayal of Han Solo and Indiana Jones, two of the most iconic action heroes of all time. Through his smouldering stare and effortless charisma, it was difficult to find any man better for the job of realising these dare-devil characters, with an all-guns-blazing approach to the challenges of each production that marked him as one of the most committed performers of his time, even if it came with a few scrapes and bruises along the way.
But for some baffling reason, there was another actor considered for the lead role in Ridley Scott’s classic 1982 film Blade Runner, which became a staple role in Ford’s career and marked an important shift for Scott through the restrained sci-fi drama. While Ford was the perfect choice, also making a comeback for Denis Villeneuve’s adaptation of the film in 2017, they toyed with the idea of casting another actor with absolutely no experience in the genre, who ended up clashing over differing creative ideas.
When thinking of great action heroes, the likes of Tom Cruise, Glen Powell and Jackie Chan might come to mind. But there is absolutely no way that someone like Dustin Hoffman would be at the top of this list. The actor has given dazzlingly complex and sensitive performances in films like Midnight Cowboy, The Graduate, Kramer vs Kramer and Ishtar, with a versatile method approach that has led him to star in everything from ridiculous comedies to heartfelt family dramas.
But while he is undeniably talented, he’s not someone we think of when looking at the action genre, with his projects not leading him anywhere near the tops of burning buildings or dangerous stunts.
However, the actor was seriously considered for the role of Deckard in Blade Runner, with the producer of the film, Michael Deeley, saying, “Dustin Hoffman was someone we talked about. We negotiated for a long time with Dustin Hoffman…would have been very interesting casting, a nasty, sinister little figure which he would have been, and eventually, it just fell out of being possible because Dustin would simply not stop wanting to make changes. Three months into conversations, he was starting to go on about, ‘Why don’t we start to introduce cryogenics?’ And it just got boring”.
Understandably, the laws of this constructed story world became a little too much for Hoffman, with the actor not being able to adjust to the rules of sci-fi storytelling that Ford was very experienced in. The idea of creating cryogenics might have been a good idea to Hoffman, but to the creators and crew, it was a pain in the ass that could be avoided by working with someone who wouldn’t question their methods of working after starring in similar productions.
Hoffman would definitely have been an unexpected choice, but perhaps it’s safer to go with someone a little less bold for a picture that is already breaking so many of the rules and carving out its own path, with Ford blending perfectly into this world and not demanding as many changes.
