Harrison Ford has explained why he might appear somewhat surly during chat show interviews.
Throughout the course of his decade-long acting career, the Indiana Jones icon has become known for appearing “grumpy” while promoting his movies.
In 2006, during an appearance on Late Night with Conan O’Brien, Ford was directly asked about his “grumpy” image.
“That’s horse s***”, he responded curtly.
Online fans have since speculated that his perceived shyness and reticence are a result of social anxiety.
When told about this fan diagnosis in a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Ford responded: “S***. That sounds like something a psychiatrist would say, not a casual observer.
“No. I don’t have a social anxiety disorder. I have an abhorrence of boring situations,” the 1923 star stated.
Ford further clarified that in his early years as a stage actor, he did experience nerves.
“I wasn’t shy, I was f***ing terrified,” he recalled: “My knees would shake so badly, you could see it from the back of the theatre. But that’s not social anxiety. That’s being unfamiliar with the territory.
“I was able to talk myself through that and then enjoy the experience of being onstage and telling a story with collaborators.”
At 80 years old, Ford said he has no plans of retiring. “I’m still excited about the prospect of telling a story,” he added. “I like playing an old guy. If I wasn’t having a good time, I would stop doing it.”
Ford currently leads Apple TV+’s new comedy-drama Shrinking, alongside Jason Segel.
He also stars in the forthcoming untitled Indians Jones 5, which will feature a “spooky” digitally de-aged Ford.
“I never loved the idea until I saw how it was accomplished in this case – which is very different than the way it’s been done in other films I’ve seen,” he said of the de-ageing process.
“They’ve got every frame of film, either printed or unprinted, of me during 40 years of working with Lucasfilm on various stuff,” Ford revealed.
“I can act the scene and they sort through with AI every f***ing foot of film to find me in that same angle and light. It’s bizarre and it works and it is my face.”
