NOWYOUKNOW:
Fordwasnominated for aBestActorAcademyAward
for hisportrayal of undercover cop JohnBook in 1985’s
Witness
.
The ticket-buyingpublichaspaid close
attention toHarrisonFord inmovies for
more than30 years. In
42
, thanks to a di-
rectorswayedbyFord’sacting,his fanswill
seehimastheyneverhavebefore.
Onthisdayinhisoce,Fordhasacasual
but cool look.Dressed in jeans andappear-
ing very fit, he fashionably sports a small
jeweledstud inhis leftearlobe.
“People lookatmeandsay, ‘You’vegotan
earring.Wheredidyouget that?’”he says.
“I’vehadanearringfor15years.Peopledon’t
payattention.”
devices likeslidingpitsandbattingtees.He
alsodevised a systemwheremajor league
clubs ownedminor league teams and all
theirplayercontracts,whicheventuallybe-
camebaseball’s farmsystem.
Rickey didn’t drink, didn’t curse and
promised his deeply religiousmother he
would never work on Sundays — and he
neverdid.Healso taughthimselfLatinand
graduated from theUniversityofMichigan
SchoolofLaw.Hewasfunny,too,onceutter-
ing: “Iwas in the top 10percent ofmy law-
school class. I’maDoctorofJurisprudence.
IamanhonoraryDoctorofLaw.Tellmewhy
I spent fourmortal hours todayconversing
withapersonnamedDizzyDean?”
Ford is amusedbyRickey’s senseof hu-
morand impressedbyhis intellect. “Ithink
hewouldhavebeen ahelluva lawyer, or a
judge,orapreacher,”Fordsays.
Orperhapshecouldhavebeenacollege
professorofarchaeology likeIndianaJones,
who draws praise similar toRickey from
Ford. “Whatwas interestingabout Indiana
Jones was his academic background, his
scholarship,”Fordsays.“Andthen,whenhe
findshimself introuble,hiswit.”
Twoscholars,bothwitty.
WhileFordwill playRickey only once,
hecouldplay IndianaJones forafifth time
in thenear future.At the timeof this inter-
view,Fordsaidtherewaspreliminarywork
beingdoneonascriptbut thatnofinaldeci-
sionhadbeenmade tomakeamovie.Even
largernews forFord fans, however, is that
hecouldrevivetheroleofHanSolo inanew
StarWarsfilm.Fordsaysthere’safirstdraft
ofascriptwithhischaracterwritten into it,
butnegotiationswerenotyetcomplete.
“Ihaven’t gotmuch to saybecausewe’re
inthemidstofnegotiationsanddiscussions
about it and it’s not a
fait accompli
at this
point,”saysFord,whose lastappearanceas
Solowasin1983’s
ReturnoftheJedi
.“I’dvery
much liketohave ithappen,butwe’llsee.”
Ford said there are “five or six” other
roleshe isconsidering, andhehasnoplans
to slowdown.He turned70 last Julybut is
hardlybotheredbyage.
“I love towork,”he says. “Ineed towork.
I lovenew challenges. One of the things I
always thought aboutwhen Iwas imagin-
ingwhat itwas like tomake a living as an
actorwasyoudidn’thavetostop.Ifyouwere
willingtoplayoldguys,youcouldkeepwork-
inguntil you ceasedbeinguseful, which I
thoughtwasprettycool.”
AmericanWay
AssociateEditor
JANHUBBARD
hasnever
thought aboutwearinga stud inhisear, but he figures if
it’sgoodenough forHarrisonFord, it’sworthconsidering.
AA.COM/AMERICANWAY
APRIL 01, 2013
47
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