‘Indiana Jones’: Harrison Ford Reveals Another Actor was Originally Offered Lead Role as Indy
Published on June 28th, 2023 | Updated on June 28th, 2023 | By FanFest
Harrison Ford, synonymous with the iconic role of Indiana Jones, recently revealed that he wasn’t the initial choice to portray the beloved character’s adventurous spirit, complete with the hat, leather jacket, and whip.
As he promoted the fifth installment of the franchise, titled “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” Ford shared the story of how he landed the role.
“The question of how I got the job? Well, Tom Selleck had actually been cast, but he had prior commitments to a television series and couldn’t get out of the contract,” Ford disclosed in an interview with Deadline.
“I became the second choice, and I’m incredibly grateful to Tom,” he expressed. “Thank you, Tom, my man. If you happen to be listening, thank you once again.”
Ford recalled that his “Star Wars” collaborator, George Lucas, personally called him and insisted that he read a script he was sending to his house. Lucas, the creative force behind both the “Star Wars” and “Indiana Jones” franchises, played a pivotal role in Ford’s journey.
“‘I want you to read it right away,'” Ford recounted Lucas saying on the phone. “‘I want you to read it in an hour.'”
“I sat down, read it within an hour, and then he said, ‘I want you to go over to Steven Spielberg’s house and talk to him,'” Ford shared about Lucas’s request. “So, I went to Steven Spielberg’s house, never having met him before, and I guess about an hour later, I had the job.”
Spielberg and Ford would go on to collaborate on the first four movies of the franchise.
In a previous interview with Empire magazine, Lucas had expressed his initial reservations about casting Ford.
“I was cautious about Harrison and I becoming like [Martin] Scorsese and [Robert] De Niro. I thought, ‘Let’s create a new icon.’ We had found Tom Selleck, but as soon as the network found out, they exercised his option on ‘Magnum P.I.,'” Lucas shared.
Selleck, now 78 years old, began his portrayal of Tom Magnum in “Magnum P.I.” in 1980.
What are your thoughts? Could you imagine Tom Selleck as Indiana Jones? Let us know in the comments!
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