Fording the age gap

The years have truly been kind to Hollywood veteran Harrison Ford.

In fact, it seems to be a case of life imitating art for the 61-year-old actor, as the cup that gave eternal life to his most famous screen character, Indiana Jones in The Last Crusade, appears to have rejuvenated the reluctant star too, both off-screen and on.

The Hollywood icon is enjoying a long Indian summer. His glamorous girlfriend, the actress Calista Flockhart, is 22 years his junior and he is now preparing for the release of his latest movie, Hollywood Homicide.

In the new film, Ford and his young co-star, Josh Hartnett of Pearl Harbour fame, play a pair of mismatched detectives trying to unravel a series of rapper murders in the heart of Hollywood.

Ford plays seen-it-all cop Gavilan, who also moonlights as a real estate agent because of debts, whilst Hartnett plays his rookie partner, Calden, who harbours dreams of becoming the next Marlon Brando.

“I liked the characters, this is a story about guys being put under a lot of pressure. Besides I thought it would be a nice contrast to [his previous submarine drama] K-19,” says the usually serious-minded Ford.

Despite his advancing years, it would seem that the rugged Indiana Jones image has stayed with Ford, as he insisted in doing most of his own stunts – showing his young co-star a thing or two in the process.

The action-comedy is laced with the usual chase and fight scenes, and Ford’s penchant for stunt-work terrified director Ron Shelton.

“Even though we had a stunt double for Harrison he kept saying, ’No I’m gonna do it’,” admits Shelton. “He did so many stunts it was frightening.”

Despite the light-hearted nature of the film, there were reports of tensions between the two stars on set and Hartnett took the blame when they were both injured in a stunt mishap. The younger actor was at the wheel during a car crash scene that went badly wrong when a stunt driver decided to improvise the scene. Ford suffered a groin strain, whilst Hartnett was hit on the head.

“He got a little too excited behind the wheel, that’s why I’d rather drive than ride anytime,” says Ford about the incident.

Hartnett has admitted Ford was “pissed off at me” over the crash, adding: “Harrison is an idol of mine but we had kind of a tumultuous working experience.”

Hollywood Homicide is a bit of a departure for the notoriously meticulous Ford because his gruff, shambolic character is often humorous. In one semi-comic love scene with on-screen squeeze Lena Olin, he even quips: “If I take my gingko, I’ll remember where I put my Viagra.”

“I haven’t played a character that has quite this much comic opportunity where you could push it to the edge,” says Ford, who started his acting career after dropping out of Ripon College in Wisconsin, before the roles of Bob Falfa in American Graffiti (1973), and Han Solo in Star Wars (1977), sealed his reputation as a Hollywood A-lister.

“The comedies I’ve done have mostly been romantic comedies where I’ve been more the straight man.”

The “ginko” quip was “just a good line“, he says. “I don’t need to acknowledge my age, I am my age. I’ve never been concerned that much with it.”

The film plays on the generational differences, says Shelton, with Ford’s character having to delve into the unfamiliar and violent world of hip hop as he pursues his investigations.

And while the actor is not known for his screen laughs, Shelton says he does have a wry sense of humour.

“People think he’s serious because he’s very detail orientated. Harrison can be a funny, loose guy,” says Shelton. “I can tell you the character you see [in Hollywood Homicide] wasn’t that much of a stretch for him.”

One thing Ford doesn’t seem to find funny is the intense media interest in his relationship with Flockhart.

“We’ve become a target, I don’t enjoy it and I don’t participate in it,” he says. “I really don’t think my private life is anyone’s business.”

With four children from two previous marriages, two adult sons with Mary Marquardt and a teenage son and daughter with screen-writer Melissa Matheson, he’s having to use his child raising skills again with Flockhart’s two-year-old adopted son Liam.

Ford says he’s reluctant to share screentime with Flockhart now they share a life together.

“I have reservations about working with someone that you live with, I’m not sure how that would work out.”

The star has now returned to the Indiana Jones character that his name has become synonymous with, and will be donning his safari gear again for the fourth in the series.

When Ford finishes making the latest Indiana Jones instalment next year he’ll be 63. With his films having taken well over a billion dollars at the box-office, it is remarkable that – 37 years since his screen debut – Ford is still in the $20m-dollar-a-role, Hollywood A-list.

As he wryly notes, “I’m clearly not a contemporary of Josh Hartnett, but there are still a lot of roles for people my age.”