Modesty marks Ford

Retirement last thing on actor’s mind

Actor Harrison Ford stars as computer security specialist Jack Stanfield in the new film Firewall, in theatres today. 

Declaring that Harrison Ford has been fairly successful in the movie business is like saying Microsoft’s Bill Gates is fairly wealthy — both are huge understatements.

But the soft-spoken Ford, who cemented his iconic Hollywood status with blockbuster ’70s and ’80s roles in Star Wars and Indiana Jones, not to mention a host of other incredibly successful projects, sums up his career in more reticent terms.

“I’ve been a working actor that’s been very lucky to work with some terrific directors,” he says.

And what of four decades of historic leading man status? “(I’ve made) a couple of films that have made it easier to get work.”

Impossibly modest would be another way to describe the star. His latest project has the 63-year-old tackling the role of bank computer security specialist Jack Stanfield in the suspense thriller Firewall. When the sinister Bill Cox (Paul Bettany) takes his family hostage, Stanfield is forced to transfer $100 million from the bank into off-shore accounts as the lives of his wife (Virginia Madsen) and children hang in the balance.

The part is a somewhat ironic choice for Ford, a recreational carpenter and vintage plane enthusiast known for his simpler technological tastes.

“I never really believed that computers would be, for my life at least, the huge time-saving convenience they’re cracked up to be. I spend more time having mine fixed than I do actually using it,” he quips.

While his computer may not always run at full steam, Ford’s career and bankability as one of film’s top stars continue unabated into a stage of life when most actors would be seeking more reserved roles.

Ask him if Firewall might be his last foray into the action-suspense genre and Ford points out that simple stunts and challenging sequences are perhaps easier at this juncture in his career.

“I feel perfectly as capable now as I was 30 years ago, maybe even a little more because I have more experience in dealing with them,” he explains quietly. “I think actors in general can continue to find roles at whatever age. I don’t have any ambition to retire.”

Ford says he plans to shift gears slightly in working to develop more of his own projects, an area where he feels major studios no longer dedicate the resources they once did.

And the other career shift he’s planning? Fewer leading roles like his Stanfield part in Firewall. 

“I’m beginning to think more about developing supporting roles where I don’t have to be the lead man and carry that weight.”

For an actor who’s been compared to icons such as Humphrey Bogart, Cary Grant and Clark Gable, Ford has the stature to blaze any path he chooses into his golden years.

Firewall opens in theatres today.

- By Chris Atchison