I've heard claims here and there about Harrison Ford's attitude toward the Star Wars franchise, with most claiming that he hates it or used to hate it, etc.
Did he like Star Wars and then grew to dislike it? Or vice versa? If he ever did dislike Star Wars, then why? etc.
Basically, what has been Harrison Ford's attitude(s) towards Star Wars?
I do have canon quotes to back it up ;-)
As quoted in this article:
"It should have felt ridiculous!" Ford barked, when asked about returning to the franchise. "Here I was, doing something I did so long ago." I could feel the fans around me steeling themselves.
And then Ford paused, significantly. "I will tell you that it felt great," he said. "I was proud and grateful to once again be involved."
From this article (emphasis mine):
But whenever the conversation turned to [Han Solo], Ford’s crooked smile tended to bend south and be punctuated with an eyeball roll. “He’s dumb as a stump,” the actor groaned.
[...] “He’s a cultural institution,” I said. “At no credit to the culture for embracing him as a hero,” Ford shrugged back, unrepentant.
[...] In 2010, when MTV broached the topic of reprising Solo (long before anyone considered that a remote possibility), Ford answered: “No, no, no. Han Solo was very good to me at a certain point in my career. But I’m done. I’m done with him.”
He hasn’t changed his tune much. Back in 1983, when Return of the Jedi was about to open, Ford was interviewed on the Today show expressing his dislike for Solo – and his determination not to play him again. “Three’s enough for me,” he said. “I was glad to see that costume for the last time.”
Rumour has it that he wanted his character to be killed off in Return of the Jedi, and even that Han was killed off in an early draft of the script.
During the first two Star Wars films (1977 and 1980), before he got his big break with Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), he was much more involved with the Star Wars effort and the character of Han Solo. From this article (emphasis mine):
Ford's mea culpa after viewing the finished "Star Wars" for the first time: "I told George: 'You can't say that stuff. You can only type it.' But I was wrong. It worked." Ford has never seemed at ease in interviews, but in this interview from 1977 he looks genuinely excited to be discussing "Star Wars." (Watch him gush over the opening shot of the film at 1:07.)
Ford's career didn't exactly explode after the release of "Star Wars." In an interview from 1980 that appears on the Indiana Jones Blu-ray set, he says that he didn't get the kind of scripts he had hoped for until "Raiders of the Lost Ark" came along. And the list of films he appeared in before "The Empire Strikes Back" (not counting a cameo in "Apocalypse Now") -- "The Frisco Kid," "Hanover Street" -- is less than inspiring. By the time "Empire" started filming, Ford still seemed to enjoy playing Han Solo.
Actually, the Ford depicted in Rinzler's equally fantastic "The Making of The Empire Strikes Back" seems even more invested in Solo. "Empire" was a much more grueling shoot than "Star Wars," but Ford wasn't just along for the ride. "I think of myself as an assistant storyteller," he said at the time, and there's no better example of that than his debate with "Empire" director Irvin Kershner over the carbon freezing scene.
In the script, Solo's response to Leia's declaration of love for him was written as "I love you, too." It's now lore that Ford changed it to "I know." But if you read the transcript of Ford's conversation with Kershner on the set, you can see that Ford wasn't just being a smartass. He put a lot of thought into that line. "But if she says, 'I love you,' and I say, 'I know,' it's beautiful and it's acceptable and it's funny," he pleaded. "The point is, I'm not worried about myself anymore; I'm worried about her."
This does not sound like a man who didn't find his character "interesting."
Even while promoting "Empire," Ford still hadn't yet developed his gruff attitude toward "Star Wars." Again, he actually seems relatively excited to be talking about the movie. (That would change before "Return of the Jedi" was released.)
I don't have canon quotes to back it up, but basically his attitude wasn't that he severely disliked Star Wars (the way Sir Alec Guinness did), but he disliked:
The disproportionate weight it was attaching in his acting career. HE didn't see himself as Han Solo, but many if not most of his fans did.
He disliked Han compared to other roles he played.
Later, when Return of the Jedi rolled around, Ford notoriously lobbied Lucas to kill off his character, to no avail. What did he have against Han? "He was not so interesting to me," Ford would explain in one interview, adding in another, "He’s certainly a much less interesting character than Indiana Jones," before concluding, "He’s dumb as a stump." (source)
The uber-serious way people took Star Wars. To him, it's a job, done well. Not a mythological universe he has his head stuck into.
this is a point where I look at myself in the mirror :)
This is perfectly exemplified in the mini-interview he did in the media blitz before TFA release.
The host asked several TFA people the same series of questions, one of which was "Did Han shoot first?". EVERYONE - including J.J. Abrams - forcefully declared that of course Han shot first.
Harrison Ford, in a way only he can emote, deadpanned: "I don't care"
Interestingly, his attitude towards Star Wars seemed to have severely improved with TFA.
Once can, of course, lob it off on a publicity/flack move, but this is Harrison Ford we are talking about. He has built up a huge amount of credibility, and now it pays off - for one, I trust that he's being genuine.
Here's what he said at ComiCon
It should have felt ridiculous!" Ford barked, when asked about returning to the franchise. "Here I was, doing something I did so long ago." I could feel the fans around me steeling themselves.
And then Ford paused, significantly. "I will tell you that it felt great," he said. "I was proud and grateful to once again be involved."
Reading between the lines, it's obvious he considered it all nonsense; and in understanding his generation, I can easily see that. It is for the most part. Does that mean he's ever hated it? No.
I'm quite sure he enjoyed himself in his role (One of two roles that later opened many doors for him). Actors tend to enjoy any opportunity to display their ability to act. Among other more personal reasons I wouldn't feel is my place to comment upon.
People now have to remember that Sci Fi, in general, was very niche back then and largely considered very flunky. The more practical question would be, did he ever think Star Wars would be received the way it was? -- and I'm quite sure he's gone on record as having said he never thought it would. Thus'n'therefore "things change".
