Helen Mirren opens up about her 1923 co-star Harrison Ford, as she explains how an exchange that she had with the celebrated actor showed how he has changed his attitude and approach to acting in recent years. A prequel set long before the events of Taylor Sheridan’s Yellowstone series, the Paramount+ spin-off depicts the Dutton family facing the challenges of a rapidly changing America following the First World War and throughout the 1920s. As 1923 season 2 approaches in February, Mirren and Ford are set to reprise their roles of Cara and Jacob Dutton, the family’s then leaders.
As the Wall Street Journal sat down with Ford ahead of his return in 1923 and MCU debut in Captain America: Brave New World, Mirren shares how she has felt working alongside the actor on the Paramount+ series. While Mirren states that working with Ford on their first project together in 1983’s The Mosquito Coast left her with the impression that Ford was withdrawn and reluctant to be the huge star that he found himself becoming, she noticed with their reunion in 1923 that he has become much more open and vulnerable:
“He was a huge star and he really didn’t want to be. He wanted to just be a quiet person getting on with life, and of course, that’s kind of impossible. Something rather magical has happened to Harrison, especially with his history of, you know, being the dude, the bloke, the fabulous action guy, the funny guy, the cool guy. Now there’s this open road to his inner feelings, which he is absolutely unafraid of expressing. It’s just a true, quick, instinctive emotional reaction to things, without sentimentality.”
Mirren then opens up about an exchange during the filming of a bloody scene in 1923 where Ford alluded to him looking like how he did after his 2015 near-fatal plane crash, suggesting to her that the incident shifted his perspective. Check out Mirren’s explanation below:
“He’s been carried into the kitchen, dying and covered in blood, and later Harrison did say to me, ‘That was how I was after the accident.’ I think, maybe, going through that experience just gave him a very different understanding of what it is to be a sentient human being.”
How Ford’s 2015 Plane Crash Affected The Actor
Ford Has Been Open About The Aftermath Of The Incident
While the 2015 incident isn’t the only plane crash that Ford has experienced as a pilot, the actor has previously discussed how that particular event has weighed on him. After his vintage aircraft suffered engine failure, Ford was forced to make an emergency landing on a golf course, with Ford being left hospitalized with a large laceration and several broken bones for almost a month. While he has returned to flying, Ford stated he hopes never to go through an experience like it again, and recognizing that it was a difficult period for his family.
Furthermore, upon receiving the scripts for 1923, Ford stated that he immediately felt many similarities with Jacob due to how their experiences carried some parallels, including the scene Mirren had described. The scene was something he could emotionally relate to what he and wife Calista Flockhart went through following the 2015 incident. Though Ford may have returned to flying and enjoyed many more roles since, it is evident that his experience has added new weight to how he views certain roles, perhaps giving him a unique perspective.
Our Thoughts On Mirren’s Observations About Ford
Ford’s Past Openness About Certain Roles Could Hint At His Changing Mindset
Mirren isn’t the only person to have noticed an apparent change in Ford’s career across his recent roles. While it may have been a role that propelled him into widespread acclaim, Ford has admitted he didn’t want to be limited to being recognized as Star Wars’s Han Solo, and wished for a different fate in Return of the Jedi. Nevertheless, the actor returned to the role in 2015 and 2019’s The Force Awakens and The Rise of Skywalker, adding a new layer to the character with an enthusiastic portrayal.
While it didn’t meet expectations at the box office, Ford’s return in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny offered a fitting farewell to the character, one which Ford had been eager to fulfill. While Ford’s enthusiasm with these cases may be partly due to the actor finally being able to leave these characters with the ending they deserve, Mirren’s 1923 observations could hint that Ford’s new perspective gave him more insight into approaching them.
With life-threatening events always around every corner, Ford’s character [Jacob Dutton] appears to embrace every day just as the actor himself does.
This same level of insight seems to have carried over into his Yellowstone spinoff, with Ford’s portrayal of Jacob Dutton affording him the ability to reflect his near-death experience in his work. The strong cast of 1923 also bolsters this approach, as the characters surrounding the ranch’s patriarch give him plenty of unique personalities to bounce off of. With life-threatening events always around every corner, Ford’s character appears to embrace every day just as the actor himself does. This parallel makes it even more obvious how his views on acting have changed in recent years.
What Harrison Ford’s Recent Roles Mean For His Acting Career’s Future
Ford Has Plenty Of Memorable Characters He’ll Be Bringing To Life Soon
February 2025 won’t just see Ford return as Jacob Dutton; he’ll also be making his debut as Thaddeus Ross in Captain America: Brave New World, picking up the character’s mantle after William Hurt’s death in 2022. Alongside his MCU debut, he’s also expected to return as Dr. Paul Rhoades in Apple TV+’s Shrinking season 3. The actor taking on varied roles, from superhero, to western, to drama, is emblematic of how open he’s become to portraying characters with different layers of depth to them, having no particular preference for what type of movie they’re part of.
Given the many different roles he’s had in recent years and will continue to take, the seasoned actor will likely continue playing varied characters that he wants to bring to life. As for 1923, season 2 will mark the end of his time as Jacob Dutton, the last time he’ll be playing the role whose moments have personal connections to him. However, future career prospects can help fill that void, as he keeps bringing his expertise to new roles in both movies and TV shows going forward.
1923 season 2 premieres Sunday, February 23 on Paramount+.