Harrison Ford undoubtedly got the jackpot when he bagged two major franchises in Hollywood- Star Wars and Indiana Jones. The first franchise has grossed $10 billion worldwide while the other one has $1.9 billion in the bag. It wouldn’t be wrong to say that Ford wouldn’t be where he is in the industry without Han Solo and Indiana Jones.
But he almost missed the latter train because he wasn’t the first choice to play the globe-trotting adventurer. Instead, it was Jennifer Aniston and Courteney Cox’s FRIENDS co-star who had earned the role fair and square. Ford knows how lucky he is to play the character, so he gave a shoutout to the man who got the role first.
Why Wasn’t Harrison Ford The First Choice For Indiana Jones?
By the time Raiders of the Lost Ark was in the process of getting made, Harrison Ford was already a star since Star Wars had already been released. So shouldn’t he have been the clear-cut first choice for the lead role in a new franchise? That’s what many might think, but George Lucas and Steven Spielberg didn’t think so.
Ford wasn’t chosen first because Lucas wanted to create a new star. He said:
“I was wary of Harrison and I becoming like Scorsese and De Niro. I thought, ‘Let’s create a new icon.'”
But that’s not the only reason. The Star Wars creator also wasn’t sure that Ford would sign on for a trilogy because he had been opposed to it for Star Wars. As such, they began looking at other actors. Out of them, it was Tom Selleck who impressed them the most and took away the role. Today, he is known for projects like Blue Blood, Magnum P.I., and FRIENDS.
The actor had a small role in the latter hit sitcom where he played Courteney Cox’s Monica Geller’s much older boyfriend in season 2. Selleck appeared for only 9 episodes of the show. As for Indiana Jones, the actor had to let go of it even after bagging the lead role because of a conflict of interest with CBS’ Magnum, P.I.
So Selleck left Raiders of the Lost Ark just three weeks before filming was going to begin. It was only then that Harrison Ford was offered the role by George Lucas.
Harrison Ford Thanked The Actor Who Dropped Out Of Indiana Jones Even After Bagging It
Harrison Ford is aware that he wasn’t the first choice to play Indiana Jones and that the role had gone to Tom Selleck in the beginning. But till now, the Age of Adaline star had never publicly acknowledged it. However, recently, during the promotions of Indiana Jones 5, Ford gave a shoutout to Selleck, when he was asked how he got the role.
He said:
“How I got the job? Tom Selleck had the job, but he also incurred an obligation to do a television series and he was unable to get out of that contract. I became the ‘second’ choice, and I’m very grateful to Tom. Thank you, Tom, man. If you’re listening, thank you again.”
Even though Indiana Jones 5 is now out in theaters, it isn’t performing as well as one would have hoped. As such, it looks like the franchise will go out with a sizzle rather than a bang.
All the Indiana Jones films are available on Disney+.
Source: Yahoo
