Best Harrison Ford film performance

[publicist 4,650]

Ford does real 'star' performances, in a certain towering above the rest of the cast-way, like Cary Grant or John Wayne could do...and those are more elusive than great ACTING, in the Paul Giamatti etc. sense.

[Incanus 5,890]

Oh no we are again in agreement. That's perhaps what Williams himself was saying when he mentioned how impressed he was when Ford was creating such a singular character with Indiana Jones on sort of Humprey Bogart level, having that same kind of iconic star quality. This can both work for and against him sometimes in his films but on the other hand he can use the audience's expectations to misdirect them. I love in particular the ending of Presumed Innocent where Alan J. Pakula plays with Harrison's role as a star and good guy up until the last minute where we are not sure if the reliable hero is infact a bad guy after all. This was also the case in What Lies Beneath where the general expectation of Harrison Ford and the roles he plays were used to mislead the audience a bit.

[A24 5,155]

He lost that quality though and traded it for overacting. I don't know when it started, but it's from there that I can't watch him play anymore. At the same time, his choice in movies got really bad too.

Alex

[Incanus 5,890]

He lost that quality though and traded it for overacting. I don't know when it started, but it's from there that I can't watch him play anymore. At the same time, his choice in movies got really bad too.

Alex

So he ended up like Sean Connery.

[publicist 4,650]

I saw MORNING GLORY and he sure wasn't good in it, but again, it wasn't a role he owned or was suited to (it might have suited someone more catankerous like Nicholson).

He lost that quality though and traded it for overacting. I don't know when it started, but it's from there that I can't watch him play anymore. At the same time, his choice in movies got really bad too.

Alex

So he ended up like Sean Connery.

Connery is a better actor than Ford. Ford couldn't play roles like in THE OFFENCE to save his ass.

[A24 5,155]

So he ended up like Sean Connery.

How right you are! Of course, no one can take away his shining star days. Is Ford the last Jimmy Stewart/Bogart/Cary Grant of the silver screen? And is he of the same iconic level?

[Thor 9,362]

So he ended up like Sean Connery.

How right you are! Of course, no one can take away his shining star days. Is Ford the last Jimmy Stewart/Bogart/Cary Grant of the silver screen? And is he of the same iconic level?

I'd put Tom Hanks in that company.

Never cared much for Sean Connery, to be honest. I prefer Ford.

[JoeinAR 1,957]

So he ended up like Sean Connery.

How right you are! Of course, no one can take away his shining star days. Is Ford the last Jimmy Stewart/Bogart/Cary Grant of the silver screen? And is he of the same iconic level?

George Coolney is this generations closest actor to a Cary Grant.

Lumping Jimmy Stewart, Humphrey Bogart, and Cary Grant is puzzling, they are all 3 unique and not similar in many ways.

[A24 5,155]

Puzzling to your brain perhaps, Joey.

Is Ford a dog or a cat?

Clooney is definitely a dog.

I'd say Ford was a cat who became a dog.

Alex

[JoeinAR 1,957]

your grouping was moronic.

those 3 actors are not interchangable.

[Quintus 6,494]

George Clooney is a mere pretender to the debonair throne of ultimate suave, left by Grant.

Lol, Clooney fucking wishes he had half the appeal of Cary Grant.

[A24 5,155]

your grouping was moronic.

those 3 actors are not interchangable.

Why do you have to be so dumb, Joey? It's annoying. It always has been.

[JoeinAR 1,957]

why do you have to be so ignorant?

but our personal dislikes of each other doesn't explain your odd grouping,

In what universe are Jimmy Stewart, Humphrey Bogart, and Cary Grant interchangeable.

Stewart for Grant maybe, but Bogart for Steward or Grant, never.

Grant was too debonare, and his comedic timing was impecable.

Stewart is more of an everyman.

Bogart had the rough trademans quality that neither Stewart or Grant possessed.

[A24 5,155]

Joey, the special quality of certain small group of actors has been explained in the thread. Why do I have to explain it again?!

[JoeinAR 1,957]

sorry lex, you cannot explain this grouping.

[A24 5,155]

That means you don't believe that Harrison Ford belongs to this small select group of actors that we are talking about.

[JoeinAR 1,957]

as much as I like Harrison Ford, he is not the calibre of actor that Stewart and Grant were.

He does have Bogart qualities.

But that said Ford is as I said the quintisential hero.

Still I like him best in his turn to the dark side. He was a terrific villain in What Lies Beneathjust as the often heroic Patrick Stewart once played a terrific villain in Conspiracy Theory.

[A24 5,155]

I'm sure if Ford dies, he will get the same iconic status as Grant and Stewart, that is, if he doesn't have it already.

[Quintus 6,494]

It's interesting - who's the bigger icon? Ford or Jones?

[A24 5,155]

Both are since Ford gave life to the iconic character. Their names are forever intertwined.

Someone mentioned Tom Hanks ... but isn't he too much of an actor actor to belong to the group? He doesn't have that manly charisma the others have/had. Nobody wants to be or look like Tom Hanks, right?

For a short while Rock Hudson had that quality ... but then the truth came out.

[publicist 4,650]

Someone mentioned Tom Hanks ... but isn't he too much of an actor actor to belong to the group?

He is too much Tom Hanks to belong in this group, meaning regular guy.

[JoeinAR 1,957]

Both are since Ford gave life to the iconic character. Their names are forever intertwined.

Someone mentioned Tom Hanks ... but isn't he too much of an actor actor to belong to the group? He doesn't have that manly charisma the others have/had. Nobody wants to be or look like Tom Hanks, right?

For a short while Rock Hudson had that quality ... but then the truth came out.

oh look another bit of Lex's overt homophobia peeking out. Becareful mentioning his name Lex, you might catch something.

Rock Hudsom always had that manly charisma. He had a larger than life quality on both the big screen and tv.

[publicist 4,650]

Rock Hudsom always had that manly charisma. He had a larger than life quality on both the big screen and tv.

I once read how he kept up chain-smoking while being in hospital for open heart surgery. Seems a hell of a devil-may-care guy to me.

[Xander Harris 9,673]

Another awesome Ford role is Six Days, Seven Nights where he plays the drunk pilot. Hilarious stuff.

[King Mark 3,975]

I agree with the comparison to Sean Connery

Sean Connery IS James Bond in an iconic way. He was ok to good in other roles but not to the same level

[Xander Harris 9,673]

Connery's best role is in Last Crusade.

[King Mark 3,975]

Well, he was good, but Henry Jones could have been played by another actor and it wouldn't have changed the movie much

[JoeinAR 1,957]

Connery's best performance was in the Untouchables. He also won an Academy Award for the role.

[King Mark 3,975]

Other examples where an actor sort of melds with a screen character

Sigourney Weaver= Ripley

Christopher Reeve= Superman

Arnold Schwarzenegger= Terminator

[Thor 9,362]

Someone mentioned Tom Hanks ... but isn't he too much of an actor actor to belong to the group?

He is too much Tom Hanks to belong in this group, meaning regular guy.

I think it's exactly that particular aspect which makes him belong in the company with the likes of Cary Grant, Jimmy Stewart etc. -- actors who were 'likeable' in some form or fashion, not terribly controversial, but still oozing tons of charisma. The 'everyday Joes' we could identify with onscreen.

In my opinion, Hanks is THE actor today who epitomizes that particular aspect.

[A24 5,155]

I don't see Clark Gable, Sean Connery or Cary Grant as everyday Joes. Is Ford one of the last every day Joes of the silver screen?

[Quintus 6,494]

Jimmy Stewart personified that role throughout his career, which isn't news.

[A24 5,155]

He often played everyday characters but he does have a very unusual and distinctive, larger than life persona. Not the average Joe in the street at all. Hanks disappears in the crowd. Stewart stands out. It's like light comes out of him. Stewart can wear Indiana Jones' hat, Hanks would look foolish with it.

[Quintus 6,494]

That's just facial characteristics. Hanks has always looked ever-so-slightly dorky, that's all. I do think Stewart was the average Joe in the street, though. He did stand out, yes, because he had a very empathic face and because he himself had very sympathetic physical and vocal traits. People like that exist "on the street" , Alex. Stewart was their veritable filmic spokesperson.

[A24 5,155]

Well, you are convinced about Hanks, I'm not. He doesn't have what I do see in the others mentioned in this thread. He misses the classic glamour factor. To me he's more of an actor actor.

[Quintus 6,494]

Ah, I think we misunderstand each other a little - I'm actually with you on the 'presence' aspect of Hanks. He's a good lead and I like him, but he is NOT on the screen charisma level of Grant, Stewart, Bogart, etc. Not in a million years. But then again, I don't think he's trying to be.

[JoeinAR 1,957]

Hanks is the everyday Joe today, he is the closest we have to a Jimmy Stewart. I'd love to see him play a villain.

[Wojo 2,458]

I agree, but he might not want to wreck his "I'm always the nice guy" image.

Well, he was certainly antagonistic in "The Ladykillers," which is one of the least enjoyable movies I have ever seen. I would gladly have my tonsils removed again -- the doctors will think of something -- before rewatching this film.

He was also the anti-hero of "Catch Me If You Can," in that our protagonist (Leo) was clearly doing illegal activities and Hanks was out to catch him in a cat-and-mouse, cops-and-robbers chase that roughly paralleled a father-son relationship, but neither character was truly "villainous."

[JoeinAR 1,957]

Physically he's a large man. I mean sure against M. D. Clarke in Green Mile he's not but who is. But yeah I want to see him be really nasty and vile. Playing against type as I've said several times in this thread can produce some awesome performances.

[Quintus 6,494]

Got to tread carefully though, because it can quite easily become a selling point, or a 'gimmick'.

[Wojo 2,458]

I don't recall Harrison Ford playing a villain either, to be honest.

[JoeinAR 1,957]

well some people are quite upset when their hero character/actor plays the villain. They can't handle it. lets face it villains have more fun. Look at Alan Rickman, two Iconic villain roles under his belt, Snape and Hans Gruber, now quickly name a name a memorable non-villain role......you have to think about it.

I don't recall Harrison Ford playing a villain either, to be honest.

you've not seen What Lies Beneath?

[Wojo 2,458]

well some people are quite upset when their hero character/actor plays the villain. They can't handle it. lets face it villains have more fun. Look at Alan Rickman, two Iconic villain roles under his belt, Snape and Hans Gruber, now quickly name a name a memorable non-villain role......you have to think about it.

Three. I would think of the Sheriff of Nottingham as a villain before Snape when viewing the entire saga, but that's beside the point. For a non-villain, I would think of Dogma's Metatron or the alien he played in Galaxy Quest. That didn't require much thought.

I don't recall Harrison Ford playing a villain either, to be honest.

you've not seen What Lies Beneath?

No, I never looked beneath wherever you're talking about.

[Naïve Old Fart 13,020]

The Mosquito Coast

Agreed. That, and "Witness". Two very sensitive performances. He should work with Peter Wier more often.

[Koray Savas 2,260]

Physically he's a large man. I mean sure against M. D. Clarke in Green Mile he's not but who is. But yeah I want to see him be really nasty and vile. Playing against type as I've said several times in this thread can produce some awesome performances.

Agreed, I think DiCaprio is gonna be great in Django Unchained. I always thought Jackie Chan would be a cool villain.

Sean Connery needs to go out with a bang by returning to Bond as the villain. League Of Extraordinary Men shouldn't be his last film.

[Brónach 1,330]

Sean Connery deserves that to be his last film after ruining it. Fuck the guy.

[Quintus 6,494]

[King Mark 3,975]

Physically he's a large man. I mean sure against M. D. Clarke in Green Mile he's not but who is. But yeah I want to see him be really nasty and vile. Playing against type as I've said several times in this thread can produce some awesome performances.

Agreed, I think DiCaprio is gonna be great in Django Unchained. I always thought Jackie Chan would be a cool villain.

Sean Connery needs to go out with a bang by returning to Bond as the villain. League Of Extraordinary Men shouldn't be his last film.

He looks really really old now

[Trent B 354]

Speaking of villain parts.... Harrison Ford said that Gary Oldman was his best on screen nemesis when Air Force One was made. Off screen Gary Oldman would be joking a lot and funny but once filming resumed for scenes started up again he'd go back into his creepy Russian persona.

[Koray Savas 2,260]

Oldman is the greatest villainous actor.