Harrison Ford: The Hitmaker

The first time Conversations sat down with Harrison Ford – described as Hollywood’s biggest moneymaker of all time, The Hitmaker – was in Maui, Hawaii, in 1997 during the press junket for his romance-thriller movie Six Days Seven Nights with Anne Heche. (Kris Aquino was also there for the TV interview).

What I noticed about Ford then was his soft and gentle footsteps, very much like those of a cat. They were light and you wouldn’t hear even an echo of them, never mind if he’s a big man (literally and figuratively) and, in his stature, can swagger into a roomful of entertainment journalists from around the world eager to, well, put him on the spot (in vain!).

His voice was just as soft and gentle, not booming nor menacing. He didn’t talk fast; he seemed to measure every word, sometimes talking almost in a whisper.

Several weeks ago during the press junket in Manhattan for his latest movie, Paramount Pictures’ K-19: The Widowmaker, Ford also acted true to form, except that he seemed to be wary (or was I imagining things?) that somebody might dare ask something about his private life, specifically his widely-publicized romance with Ally McBeal’s Calista Flockhart who, at 37, is 23 years Ford’s junior.

The two met at the Golden Globe Awards last January and they seemed to have hit it off right then and there, even if Ford is still married to E.T. screenwriter Melissa Mathison, 52, with whom he finally broke up last August after a brief reconciliation.

The press junket was focused on K-19: The Widowmaker, directed by Kathryn Bigelow (also the co-producer, whose other movies include Strange Days, Point Break and The Weight of Water), which is based on true events in 1961 during the Cold War when a Russian submarine called K-19, launched despite technical problems, was nearly crippled underwater barely 400 kilometers off the US coastline between Washington, D.C. and New York. Hadn’t it been averted, the meltdown could have triggered World War III. Ford plays the captain (Alexei Vostrikov, a fictional name) of that ill-fated submarine, with Liam Neeson as Captain Mikhail Polenin (also fictional) the original K-19 commander whom Ford replaced.

It’s your first time to play a Russian. How did you prepare for this role?

"There were lots of research material done mostly by Kathryn. It helped a lot that National Geographic is co-producing the movie. We also talked to several of the K-19 survivors; I read several books on the Cold War and about Russian history."

How long does it take you to get into the character you’re playing and snap out of it?

"You mean on a day-to-day basis?"

No. Throughout the filming.

"Oh... I suppose I’m working toward the understanding of a character all during the pre-production process. I work with the costume designer in choosing the wardrobe; the process of understanding the character starts on that point... even at the time I decide on the color of the character’s hair."

And then you begin to see your character in relationship to other members of the cast...

"...It all begins to fall into place. Once you get the feel of the character, it sticks throughout the filming."

What attracted you to the role of Captain Alexei Vostrikov?

"What initially interested me in the project is that it depicts the Russian experience during the Cold War, something I believe Hollywood has never seen. There are no good guys versus bad guys in the story, no politics. Our goal was to have audiences come to an appreciation of those who served on K-19. As in any group, there were all kinds of people on board. But when threatened with a terrible situation, they came together with heroic and selfless behavior. When the time came, they did their duty."

How was it being directed by a woman director?

"Kathryn is the first woman director I’ve worked with, but I wouldn’t have done it if I thought of her as a woman director. She’s a director and she has proven that. A director or an actor is a director and an actor regardless of whether he/she is a man or a woman."

What roles in general do you look for?

"I like roles that have qualities of persistence, of vulnerability, some degree of intelligence. As soon as I’m into the role, I just do what comes naturally. For me, the process is not to follow anybody else’s path. I don’t want to imitate anybody else’s way of doing things."

Of all the roles that you’ve done, which one is similar to the real Harrison Ford?

"I should say that there are aspects of my personality in all the characters that I play."

You’re known not to be so comfortable with the media and are at peace on a movie set...

"...That’s right. I’m most comfortable, most at peace around a movie set." (Note: According to a People magazine story, Ford gained a reputation for being cranky, outspoken and suspicious during his early years in Hollywood when he had to work as a carpenter to pay the bills. Being under contract to Columbia Pictures for $150 a week back in the ’60s was painful, he said, "They had some control over me because I was young and poor. I was not very cooperative.")

I suppose you are happy in all aspects of your life now, being the world’s biggest box-office star, The Hitmaker no less.

"The truth is that I’m basically unhappy with everything that I’ve done. When I look at something, I always find a fault and a flaw in it. Is it self-denigration? I don’t think so. I guess that’s just the nature of beast for me."

Do you have a temper?

"It’s way under control. I haven’t lost my temper in years. I rarely lose my temper now. I used to yell but I got over that."

What irritates you?

"Well, people who don’t do what they say they’re going to do... People who don’t work hard at what they’re doing... People who give up easily...People who don’t prepare themselves."

And what’s your idea of happiness?

"I don’t understand happiness as an ambition. As a pure ambition it’s not really worthy. I look at happiness as a by-product. I find my work still lots of fun. I just love working, being on the set, whether things are coming easy or things are going hard. I love the job; I love the problem-solving. That’s happiness for me."

Of course, you derive great happiness from flying – piloting a plane.

"I get high from flying. I got my license in September, 1996. I pilot one of my planes every chance I get."

You have a collection of planes...

"...I collect planes – and motorcycles, too."

If you could have invented something, what would it be?

"The airplane, definitely!"

What are the quirks of stardom that you enjoy?

"Well, let’s face it, it pleases me to get a quiet table in a restaurant. The attention I get because of the work I do often makes it easier to pass through life. But still, it’s the success of small things that makes me happy, like having good relationships with people whom I work with or having good times with my loved ones."

Are you flattered being called The Sexiest Man Alive?

"Oh, it’s just something cooked up to sell magazines."

Do you consider yourself sexy?

"What do you think?"

What about being described as "the star of the century"?

"That was last century... I think. So I guess I’m starting over again in this century. I don’t think that kind of stuff really makes much sense."

You still don’t enjoy being interviewed, do you?

"I don’t enjoy... Well, the thing about it really is that you go home at the end of the night full of self-loathing because you produce yourself to this insane dribble... No, not so much in this kind of press (The round-table interview. – RFL); this is much better. It’s the five-minute television thing that you do over and over again."

You have flown airplanes. Have you been in a submarine before?

"Yeah, I have been in a submarine although I haven’t really gone underwater. Modern submarines are different from the submarines of the era K-19 is talking about; the difference is like between night and day. They (modern submarines) are like supermarkets compared to closets (old submarines)."

It’s a good thing you’re not claustrophobic.

"There are some people who have a hard time with those kinds of confined spaces but I don’t have any problem with them. In the movie, the inside shots (of the submarine) were done in Toronto where we constructed a set, and the outside shots were done in Halifax, Nova Scotia, where the snow-covered Halifax shipyards facility served as the Soviet naval base at Murmansk. We also shot some scenes in Moscow and some scenes at the Lake Winnipeg in Canada."

How did people in Moscow react to your presence?

"They were like everywhere else, you know. They had tapes and video discs of the movies that I’ve done."

What memories do you have of the Cold War?

"I didn’t really hear about this particular incident until I read the script. At that time, I was in Chicago, where I grew up, and Chicago was ringed by missiles cyclops and there were anti-missile gadgets in the parks at the end of the lake. Like everyone else, I felt as though I were living under the threat of a potential nuclear attack. But I was raised by a bunch of old leftists. So from my perspective the demonization of Communism and the Communist Party was never very successful. Although I feared a nuclear war, I thought it was more likely to come as a trigger-happy mistake than as an instrument of foreign policy."

Do you think the threat of a nuclear war is even more real now than it was before?

"It is maybe now even more possible for an individual or a small group of people with access to nuclear weapons to create that kind of a situation."

You’ve played a president (Air Force One), a hunted police officer (The Fugitive) and other kinds of heroic roles. Has your notion of heroism changed after 9/11?

"Well, yeah. Because there’s a particular reason to, I will object to the notion that I play hero. I play lawyers, I play doctors, I play fugitives, I play archeologists, I play people who find themselves in traumatic circumstances and they behave in a certain way. I think that the events of 9/11 have given us occasion that there are people who are emergency medical technicians, firemen, policemen and ordinary stockbrokers who find themselves in a situation where they are called upon to act selflessly and to help other people. The notion of heroism has changed after 9/11. People who act out of regard for their fellow humanity are heroes. There’s quiet heroism, there’s noisy heroism; there might even be one or two heroes on this table."

Are you partial to roles dealing with heroism?

"I don’t choose movies for any other reason than there’s a good part in it. You know, show me a good part, show me a good story and if it moves me, then I’ll do it."

I understand that you went to Moscow for research before shooting for K-19 started.

"Yes, I went to Moscow and St. Petersburg and met with survivors of the event we talk about in K-19. It was an emotional experience to meet these people who have lived through this event. They were very curious about why Americans were interested in telling their story. They were desperate that we tell their story according to their understanding of the story. One of the interesting things is that their stories don’t match because a submarine is compartmentalized; there are water-tight doors between sections. And also, people are organized by duty, by what their specialty is – reactor crew, torpedo crew, etc. – and none of them has the whole story. So, we got bits and pieces from different people. What happened is that we’re telling the story from a Russian point of view."

To what do you attribute your success?

"I don’t know. Those titles – Sexiest Man Alive, Star of the Century, Hitmaker, etc. – don’t mean anything to me. As I’ve said, it’s simply a matter of the press or people trying to characterize, looking for ways to sell magazines or movie tickets. All I care about is being able to work and do good movies. I’ve been lucky enough to make good movies."

How do you draw a line between your personal life and your professional life?

"Just like that!" (Drawing an imaginary line on the table.)

You’re turning 60 on July 13. What’s your birthday wish, if any? (Note: This Conversation was done in June.)

"I haven’t thought about that, really. But I suppose what I wish is to continue to have a happy and productive life. That’s about it."