Harrison Ford is many things, an incredible actor, a really good pilot, and also a quirky, diligent, intense, and stubborn person. His peculiar personality often echoes through his characters on screen, which the fans and audience have come to love so much. Starring in multiple blockbusters and cult classics, Ford has always been the leading man with an unusual purpose to set things right no matter what the situation.
Whether it is Star Wars or Indiana Jones, fans have always loved Ford playing the charismatic, daring, resilient, and determined protagonists. However, there was once an opportunity when the Indiana Jones star was asked to play an antagonist.
Harrison Ford Was Once Offered The Role Of A Villain
Also Read: Harrison Ford Demanded Gary Oldman Assault Him in $315M Movie: “You don’t want to hurt somebody”
Be it Han Solo, Jack Ryan, or Indiana Jones, Harrison Ford’s leading characters are known for their brooding personality, morality, courage, and determination. Always having played the protagonist who saves the day, even Ford might have been exhausted and hence he took to movies like What Lies Beneath, etc. But before such, in the early years of his fame, Harrison Ford was offered the chance of playing a villain for once.
It was the illustrious director Martin Scorsese who offered the young Ford a chance to play a grey role in his $182M cult classic thriller, Cape Fear. Harrison Ford being desperate to shrug off his typical hero image agreed to star in the movie. However, things more often than not, do not go the way we expect them to. And so it happened, after a disagreement between the director and his potential co-star, resulted in Ford declining the offer.
Why Harrison Ford Refused To Star In Martin Scorsese’s Movie
In Cape Fear, Ford was given the chance to play the good guy initially. But after having read the script, the Fugitive actor wanted the role of the bad guy, to break his good-guy image. But by then, Robert De Niro had already bagged the role that Ford so desperately wanted. In an interview, he recounted the turn of events,
“The only time it came up was when Martin Scorsese was doing Cape Fear. He asked Bob De Niro to ask me to play the lawyer, and I told De Niro that the only way I would be interested in doing that film would be if he played the lawyer and I played his role. Of course, he didn’t want to give up his part.”
It would have been fun to have a young Harrison Ford star as an antagonist for once, but rejecting the role didn’t impact Ford’s career even a bit as he continued to climb the ladder of success with his solidified ‘protagonist’ image.
You can stream Cape Fear on Amazon Prime.
Source: The Irish Times
