Harrison Ford, the legendary actor who has been in big franchises like Star Wars and Indiana Jones, is set to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe in February as President Thaddeus Ross, via Captain America: Brave New World. And he’s already gotten started with expressing his bemusement about the role.
Ford has never been one to shy away from his lack of interest in fandom, lore, and other nerdy shit people get into with these series. When you’ve been one of the faces of Star Wars for nearly 50 years, you’re bound to get tired of people asking you big lore questions when you were only there to pick up a paycheck. The promotion for Captain America: Brave New World has been a new stage for Ford to express general bewilderment at the multiverse and other ongoing nonsense. So why does he do it? Money, naturally.
In an interview with Variety, Ford talked about the motion capture process he went through shooting the film, specifically regarding Ross’s Red Hulk transformation seen in Brave New World. When asked about what it took, his response was a very candid, Harrison Ford answer:
“It took not caring,” Ford told Variety. “It took being an idiot for money, which I’ve done before. I don’t mean to disparage it. I’m just saying you have to do certain things that normally your mother would not want you to do—or your acting coach, if you had one. But it’s fun, and I enjoyed it. I had a great time, and I’m delighted at the response that we got with the trailer.”
If you consider what playing a Hulk probably entails, I can imagine why Ford would describe it as having to essentially let loose and be “an idiot.” You gotta dress up in a motion capture suit and pretend to be a big, lumbering beast. That requires being a bit silly, and if you’re paid to do it, that’s a plus.
Ford takes over the role of Thaddeus Ross for Brave New World, the military figure-cum-president previously portrayed in five MCU movies by a mustachioed William Hurt, who sadly died in 2022. Ford will then reprise the role in Thunderbolts* on May 2 next year.
Ford’s comments on feeling like an idiot playing Red Hulk will probably catch some sideways looks from some Marvel fans, who demand it be taken with the utmost seriousness. Jamie Lee Curtis went as far as to apologize for saying the MCU was in a “bad” phase right now. Which is weird, considering the MCU itself acknowledged it’s in a rough patch in Deadpool & Wolverine. Y’all need to chill.
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