Ridley Scott shared that the people funding Blade Runner didn’t know who Harrison Ford was, even though he had already played Han Solo in Star Wars. The first Star Wars movie came out in 1977, and the second followed in 1980.
By the time Ford was cast in Scott’s 1982 sci-fi thriller, he had already finished filming Raiders of the Lost Ark, but that movie hadn’t been released yet—it came out on June 12, 1981, months after Blade Runner started filming.
In a GQ video about his most famous movies, Scott revealed that the financiers doubted his choice to cast Ford as the lead. He remembered them saying Ford “was not a star yet,” but Scott stood by his decision. Check out what he said below:
Harrison Ford was not a star yet. He had just finished flying the Millennium Falcon in Star Wars. I remember my financiers saying, “Who the f*ck is Harrison Ford?” I said, “You’re gonna find out.” So Harry became my leading man.
Although Blade Runner is now seen as a cult classic, it divided critics and viewers when it first came out and became one of Ridley Scott’s most misunderstood films. Harrison Ford plays Rick Deckard, a former cop and “blade runner” tasked with hunting down humanoid replicants. While Deckard became one of Ford’s most iconic roles, the actor didn’t always feel great about the movie.
Read More: Ridley Scott Says a Blade Runner Review ‘Destroyed’ Him, So He Framed It in His Office
Ford openly criticized the film and often talked about his creative disagreements with Scott, especially over adding voiceovers to some scenes. He also had a tough time during filming. Over the years, like many fans, Ford changed his opinion of the movie. He even returned to star in Denis Villeneuve’s Blade Runner 2049, later admitting that the 1982 film was “ahead of its time.” The financiers’ doubts about casting Ford seem to reflect their inability to understand Scott’s vision for the film.
Blade Runner gets more impressive with every rewatch because of how smart and detailed it is. Deckard isn’t like the action-packed heroes Han Solo or Indiana Jones, and this role became one of Harrison Ford’s best, thanks to Ridley Scott’s vision. Instead of casting Ford in a role similar to Han Solo, Scott gave him a character with emotional depth and complexity.
It makes you wonder if the financiers would have still questioned Scott’s choice if they had known about Ford’s role in Star Wars. The answer is probably yes, but maybe for a different reason. While it took critics and audiences years to fully understand Scott’s vision, the good news is that the brilliance of Blade Runner was eventually recognized.
Source: GQ