Harrison Ford Reflects on End of His ‘Indiana Jones’ Journey, Says Movies “Have Given Me a Freedom”

Kirsten Chuba
·4 min read
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After more than four decades, Harrison Ford’s Indiana Jones journey is coming to an end, with his fifth and final performance as the iconic character in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.

Following an emotional world premiere at Cannes, the film made its U.S. debut at the Los Angeles premiere on Wednesday, where Ford reflected on saying goodbye to the famous archaeologist.

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“I don’t think I’m going to miss anything. I appreciate all of the opportunities that the character has given me. I have been very grateful and I have enjoyed myself for the 42 years that we’ve been making these,” Ford told The Hollywood Reporter on the red carpet. “The success of these movies have really given me not only a chance to satisfy a broad audience, but they’ve given me a freedom; because of their success, they’ve given me freedom in my chosen profession. And I’m grateful for that, I’m grateful for everything that’s happened to me. I’m a lucky guy.”

The fifth film follows Indiana Jones in a race against time to retrieve a legendary dial that can change the course of history, as he is accompanied by his goddaughter Helena, played by Phoebe Waller-Bridge.

“She’s a complicated character, you don’t know if you’re supposed to love her or hate her,” Waller-Bridge said of the role. “She has a nefarious agenda, and she’s an enemy to Indy — well, she’s a friend, then she’s an enemy, then she’s a friend, then she’s an enemy.”

The Fleabag creator also joked that when doing the film’s stunts, “I was surprised how proud I was of my bruises” and she was happy that there “was something that was madcap about the way they wanted it to be done.

“They didn’t want me to be too slick, which was a relief because otherwise I would’ve never gotten the part. I just had to be a kind of scrambled mess jumping from vehicles or jumping out of airplanes,” teased Waller-Bridge. “So I was surprised that I could do it, but I didn’t do any of the super impressive stuff; that was Anna Stephenson, who was my stunt double. So whenever you go, ‘Wow!’ that’s Anna; whenever you go ‘Ah,’ that’s me.”

Mads Mikkelsen, who plays the film’s villain, joked the best part was “that you get to kick the shit out of Harrison Ford.

“He’s fantastic, he’s such a legend. The small details he can do — he brings the camera to him, he doesn’t reach out for it, and it’s just wonderful to watch him work,” Mikkelsen continued. “And then I learned from him also that it’s never too late to be a child. He’s a little boy, he’s 16 years old, there’s so much energy in him and he thoroughly loves what he’s doing and we should all remember that.”

The actor also reflected on Ford’s final day on set and giving Indiana Jones himself a proper sendoff, noting, “We were there when he did his last take on his last scene and just watching him up there being applauded, he wanted to leave and just get out of there, but he also wanted to stay there forever. It was quite beautiful to watch.”

Director James Mangold added that it was important to him to have Ford’s final chapter be “something of quality that represents the kind of integrity that his legacy of work represents” and reflected on stepping into Steven Spielberg’s shoes as the only other director to helm an Indiana Jones film.

Calling Spielberg an idol, Mangold said he was drawn in by “the chance to collaborate with him and also the kind of shared aesthetic, which is I think Steven and George [Lucas] have always been in love with golden age films and mining them and the classic Hollywood style for what is an incredible portfolio of work that has literally changed the course of cinema and business.”

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny hits theaters June 30.

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