Harrison Ford Was Refused by Steven Spielberg in His Most Poignant Movie for a Surprising Reason Despite Collaborating With Star Wars Actor in His $2.3B Franchise
Getting a role in Hollywood is no easy feat. That is one mighty door to get your foot in. But as it turns out, too much success in that realm can have its downside as well. Stories often go around of actors who couldn’t get some role they really wanted because of the very reason: they were too famous! The best of the business have lost roles because of essentially, being the best. A shocking name on that list is Harrison Ford. It is not believable but that is the case. The actor was denied a role and that too from a director whose projects he owes his fame to.
Steven Spielberg Denied Harrison Ford a Role
Steven Spielberg and Harrison Ford share credits in many successful projects. The director gave Ford the biggest roles of his career as Han Solo in Star Wars and Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark. Both projects have had a huge cultural impact on generations and were incredibly successful financially as well.
When Spielberg decided to make Schindler’s List, Ford was keen on auditioning for the project. Word is he even auditioned. After the raging success the duo shared in their past projects, it seems a no-brainer they would want to work again together. But Spielberg decided against it. He preferred Liam Neeson for the role, who hadn’t risen to star status at the time. It surely turned out to be a great decision, as casting is a precise endeavor, but it surely seemed out to the fans.
Steven Spielberg had his Reasons
Spielberg attributed his choice of not casting Harrison Ford in the role of Oskar Schindler to the actor’s extreme popularity. Being so beloved by the masses lost Ford this job. What a crime! The esteemed director was aware that Ford’s immense popularity will affect the film. It won’t be about the story or the cinematography or screenplay but it will become another film Harrison Ford starred in. He explained in an interview about Schindler’s List:
“I didn’t want the distraction of a whole bunch of other movies to cloud this one. It would have been easy — I had the movie stars coming to me for this part. I Harrison Ford Breathes Sigh of Relief as Indiana Jones Finally Turns a $2M Profit after Weeks of Box Office Strugglejust didn’t want to go that way.” While rumors have persisted for years that Ford himself thought a Jewish actor should play the part, it seems Spielberg also didn’t want a superstar leading the film.
Spielberg’s keen director’s eyes saw what could go wrong with casting Ford and decided against it. His honesty and integrity towards the project he’s been working on is what makes him the elitist of directors.
Source: Inside Film
