Harrison Ford: And now I understand women

The schedule calls for a production car to pick up Harrison Ford at 10am and take him to the photo shoot. The villa on the Hollywood hills that you see in these images is not the one where the actor lives, but is owned by James Goldstein, a very wealthy real estate developer from Los Angeles, with a passion for anacondas, for fashion (he is always at the dressed in white with a cowboy hat) and famous people (the walls are covered with photographs of celebrities posing with the host).

It is a quarter to ten when a small utility vehicle is parked in the square in front of the villa. A man gets out of the driver’s seat: he is tall, sporty dressed and wearing a pair of dark glasses; he is alone, and takes out a bag from the trunk. He enters the house without anyone paying attention to him, takes the clothes out of the bag and arranges them one by one on a drying rack in the corridor, a boy from the caterer bumps into him and the two apologize to each other for the incident. The boy continues on his way, while the man, having finished putting away his clothes, moves into the living room. From my vantage point, a very low sofa, I first see two solid legs in jeans, then I hear a low voice say, “Hi, I’m Harrison Ford.” The second thing he says is: «Can we start?»

Harrison Ford turned 64 in July but doesn’t show it; his physique is toned, the haircut and the earring (a gift he gave himself a few years ago) give him a youthful air. The long road he already has behind him can only be read by looking straight into his shy blue eyes, which not surprisingly, on the screen, serve him to express the human fragility of his heroes (the last one, in the technological thriller Firewallsis a security expert taken hostage with his family by a gang of criminals who want him to rob the bank where he works).

Immediately after this interview, he flew to Italy for an event he cares deeply about: the presentation of the prize that the Rome Film Fest instituted in memory of his historic agent, Patricia McQueeney, who passed away last year; for 30 years she advised her, helping him build a career that is one of the longest in Hollywood. The recognition, intended for managers and agents of personalities from the entertainment world, this year goes to Jim Berkus, co-founder and president of the United Talent Agency which represents, among others, actors such as Johnny Depp, Ben Stiller, Vine Vaughn and, today , Harrison Ford himself.

When did you meet Pat McQueeney?
“Early in my career, when I was making $30 a week. You already managed several actors, Charles Martin Smith, Cindy Williams and I think even Ron Howard… The group of young people who, like me, had been launched by the film American Graffiti (1973). Pat was among the first to believe in me.”

It’s rare for an actor to stay with the same agent for 35 years. What is the secret of such a long professional understanding?
“Pat had an extraordinary talent for human relationships, something that unfortunately I never had; I’ve never been good at navigating the film industry and she helped me maintain good relationships with the people at the studios. She was the one who found the projects interesting for me».

And she always agreed?
“When I wasn’t, I told him, and in any case the final decision was always mine; I remember, for example, that she would not have wanted me to The fugitive, said it was too televised to be a good movie. But then, when she saw him, she loved him very much. She was a woman who knew how to change her mind.’

You worked as a carpenter, and continued to do so even at the beginning of your acting career. She is said to have landed the part of Han Solo in Star Wars while fixing something in Coppola’s office on the day of the tryouts.
“Yes, I had gone to Francis’ office early in the morning to put up a very elaborate wooden frame for him over the entrance. At one point, George Lucas comes in to start auditions. I didn’t even think about proposing, because he said that for that film he wanted all new faces and I had already worked with him in American Graffiti. Since I was there, they asked me to support the auditioners. In the end, they took me.”

Han Solo, first, and Indiana Jones, then: two very popular characters. Has he ever felt them cumbersome?
«Of course, it happens that people associate me with Indiana Jones, as with Han Solo or Jack Ryan (the CIA agent who played in Power games and in Under the sign of danger, ed.). however, in my career I made 35 films and I have always tried to play different characters and also to change genres, from drama to thriller, to comedies».

Comedies, actually, he didn’t make many.
“I wanted to do more, but I don’t like most of the scripts I read.”

Does the same also apply to independent films? you have worked above all for the big Hollywood majors.
“It wasn’t my choice, it just happened. In reality, I would also be open to making independent films, but for me acting is above all a job and I also have to think in economic terms».

His critics accuse him of being an establishment actor, a conservative.
“I wouldn’t call myself that, but I understand that some might think so. It’s true that as an actor I’ve felt more connection with characters who were part of the establishment, I’m thinking of Jack Ryan, for example. But he too, in reality, was someone who had an independent morality and who asked himself a lot of questions».

When selecting your scripts, do you pay attention to whether they are politically correct?
“No, I don’t mind that. I think the purpose of films is above all to entertain, not to lecture or spread social messages. In fact, when a film wants to touch on very serious topics, it often ends up with an unbelievable ending. Filmmakers should never feel the need to be committed, constructive, fair.”

For this reason he refused to play Bob Barnes in Syriana role that later earned George Clooney an Oscar?
“No. I talked about it at length with the director Stephen Gaghan: and I think he is very talented and the role he offered me was very beautiful. But in the end I decided not to participate: it’s complicated to explain why».

Some say he didn’t want to make a film against the American administration.
“No, that wasn’t the reason. I rather didn’t feel comfortable with the way I chose to tell that story, but it’s my personal view that I don’t want to discuss».

Have you ever been obsessed with your job?
“No. There was a period after the first one Star Wars, during which I worked the most: I wanted to make at least a couple of films before the sequel. It was a strategy to increase my salary: for the second Star Wars, Lucas was very generous.”

How much?
“Twenty times more generous.”

Is there anything in your career that you wish you could have done that you haven’t?
“I’m not complaining about my career: it’s been wonderful. I am 64 years old and I don’t expect to have the same opportunities as when I was 30. But I still enjoy acting and, at this point, I can only really do what I love.

Do you mind never having won an Oscar?
«What matters are the receipts, the success of the film, not the prizes. Maybe I never got an Oscar because my films leave more room for the story than for the single interpretation. I don’t care about having my moment of glory, but that a film is good».

Is it possible that he doesn’t have the ambition to receive personal recognition?
«My ambition is to make people feel emotions».

By agreeing to turn Indiana Jones 4, expected for next year, will give his fans new ones. What is the effect of returning to play this character?
“It’s an interesting challenge for an actor my age; 25 years have passed since the first one Indiana Jones and 15 from the last. Obviously it will be at another stage in his life: Indy will be in his fifties, but he will find himself facing interesting circumstances. We’ll see what happens; they’re still working on the script.”

Why in such a long career have you never thought of being a director?
«That of the director is too tiring a job for me; I couldn’t stay away from home for months and months in a row, I want to live with my family”.

You studied philosophy as a boy: are you used to asking yourself many questions?
«Yes, even if I don’t always find the answers. But the questions are sometimes more important than the answers.

Have you ever wondered, for example, why you find it difficult to manage human relationships?
«More than anything else, I think about how to improve myself and I try every day, studying the people around me. When my daughter Georgia was born, who is 16 today, for example, I understood that women are different from us males».

Hadn’t she understood that with her companions?
«Sure, even with them. But maybe not enough.”

How much have you loved in your life?
“Anyway, I’m passionate even if you wouldn’t think so.”

It was understood when, at 60, he turned his life upside down by ending a marriage that had lasted for 20 with screenwriter Melissa Mathison, for the love of a younger woman, actress Calista Flockhart. How did you experience this change?
“No one wants relationships to end. Experiencing a separation is very sad. But, at the same time, something new was born for me; I heard I had another chanceanother important relationship where I can commit myself to make it go well».

The younger partner, and other signs such as the earring, can make her think that she is not resigned to getting old.
«It’s not true, I accept my age serenely. I am a father of five children (two by first wife Mary Marquardt, two by Mathison, and a five-year-old adopted by Flockharted) and the eldest is 38 years old».

So you don’t feel like a sex symbol anymore?
“I’ve never felt like a sex symbol.”

And as a father, how would you describe yourself?
“Terrible. I work too much… but maybe I’m normal. I’m apprehensive about where the kids are, about schedules. But I don’t give advice, I let them choose their life, whether to study or what job to do. My daughter Georgia is also at a difficult age, in her adolescence, and it’s not easy to deal with her… But she’s wonderful, I’m proud of her ».

Pensa was it difficult for them to have a movie star father?
“I don’t think it’s the easiest thing in this world. But I couldn’t do anything to stop it.”

Are they his fans?
“They haven’t seen many of my films. Georgia, for example, I know for sure has never seen a Indiana Jonesthat’s not the kind of story you’re interested in.”

He also has a five-year-old son who he adopted with Calista. How does it feel with such a small child at his age?
«It’s a wonderful experience, also very fun because it’s a phase in which you see many changes in a short time. Unfortunately, when my older children were that age, I was often away on business and I realize today that I have lost something».

He lived for a few years on his ranch in Wyoming, surrounded by nature. Is it still there?
«With the children at school in Los Angeles, I go there more rarely».

With the plane you fly yourself?
«Yes, flying is my great passion. I only took the patent when I was 53 because first I didn’t have the money for the lessons, then, when I had it, I didn’t have the time. Today I have 6 small planes, all different models; I like learning all kinds of techniques, always studying something new. But I’m the cautious type, especially when I travel with my family. Even if I prefer to fly alone».

Is there a reason?
“Up there I finally feel free, not Harrison Ford, not the movie star, just a pilot. I spent many years seeing myself only as an actor. I wanted to have another identity».

\