Harrison Ford Says He Plans to Keep Working, if Only for the ‘Essential Human Contact’

Referencing his part in the Apple TV+ series "Shrinking" specifically, Ford expressed his appreciation for the elite ensemble cast he gets to act opposite.

Does Harrison Ford need the work? Not exactly. In his 82 years, the beloved movie star has traversed outer space, unearthed hidden treasures across the globe, wooed many a woman, and taken down many an enemy, and yet, after all this this, he still makes time for a low-key TV series about mental health professionals working to practice what they preach.

On the Apple TV+ series “Shrinking,” co-created by Bill Lawrence, Jason Segel, and Brett Goldstein, Ford stars as Paul, the head of a cognitive behavioral therapy practice who’s face Parkinson’s disease as well as a group of peers who won’t stay out of his business. It’s one of those rare projects where Ford gets to stretch his funny side, but as he explained in a recent interview with Vanity Fair, this wasn’t the only thing that drew him to the part.

“Oh man, I get out of it essential human contact,” Ford said. “I get to imagine with people that have great skill and experience…. It’s fun to work with these people.”

In Lawrence’s opinion, what makes Ford so perfect for the role is that he can embrace his character’s seriousness in such a way as to make it hilarious. The actor agrees, but gave credit to the writing for allowing him to show his full range.

“You really believe that the character believes what he’s talking about,” Ford said of Paul. “When they have such range and depth, you can get away with the kind of humor that we do and have it serve both the serious purposes and the entertainment that we hope to bring.”

At the same time, Ford admitted he’d be lying if he wasn’t enticed by getting to work on a down-to-earth comedy. Even so, as an actor, he rarely thinks about scenes in terms of jokes, but instead tries to approach them the same way he’d handle dramatic moments.

“I always enjoyed humor. I loved jokes. I loved the construction of jokes. My father was a joke teller. The wordsmithing and the ideas that lay behind a joke have always interested me,” said Ford to Vanity Fair. “When I was thinking about becoming an actor, I was ambitious for both kinds of work — serious drama and comedy. I found myself doing both and not really distinguishing much between them. I think I think with the same actor’s head about a joke as I do about a serious or emotional scene.”

And even though he’s putting in the work, it’s a lot more fun to be fooling around when you know the people you’re fooling with are having a good time as well.

“I’m really quite goofy all on my own. But when I’m in the company of other people that I know to be goofy, there’s a certain relaxation of the rules,” Ford said. “I like to have fun. I like to be around people that are having fun. I don’t like to get too serious.”

Season 2 of “Shrinking” premieres on Apple TV+ October 16.