Harrison Ford’s ‘1923’ co-star says actor’s real-life plane crash impacted his acting
Helen Mirren saw Harrison Ford’s plane crash trauma firsthand while filming a scene in Taylor Sheridan’s “1923.”
Ford was on the cover of the Wall Street Journal’s February issue to discuss his six-decade acting career, and his “The Mosquito Coast” co-star, Mirren, weighed in on her experience working with the acclaimed actor.
Mirren recalled the very first scene with Ford in “1923,” which was the aftermath of an ambush against the Dutton family. Ford’s character, Jacob Dutton, was left riddled with bullet wounds.
Helen Mirren saw Harrison Ford’s plane crash trauma firsthand while filming the opening scene of “1923.” (Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic)
“He’s been carried into the kitchen, dying and covered in blood, and later Harrison did say to me, ‘That was how I was after the accident,’” Mirren told the outlet, referring to his plane crash. “I think, maybe, going through that experience just gave him a very different understanding of what it is to be a sentient human being.”
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Ford has touched on his near-fatal plane crash in 2015, which affected his acting in “1923.”
“When the scripts were coming, I was struck by how many major moments in my character’s life had a substantial and not coincidental shadow of the same things in my life,” Ford said during an interview with People in 2023.
“He’s been carried into the kitchen, dying and covered in blood, and later Harrison did say to me, ‘That was how I was after the accident.’”
“I watched a rehearsal with a stand-in being brought into the kitchen, and Helen [Mirren] coming in, sweeping everything off the counter, taking command.”
“Even when I talk about it now, it emotionally relates to the airplane crash I had and what my wife went through,” he added.
Although the “Indiana Jones” actor has been flying for years, Ford’s extreme plane crash in 2015 was the incident that loomed over his family the most.
Harrison Ford was involved in a near-fatal plane crash in 2015. (Amy Sussman/Getty Images)
The Penmar Golf Course after a single-engine plane piloted by actor Harrison Ford crashed on March 5, 2015, in Venice, California. (Getty Images)
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Ford suffered from head injuries, broken bones and a scraped arm when his vintage plane crashed into a Los Angeles golf course. At the time, Ford reported an engine failure during his flight.
The “Star Wars” alum has courageously moved on from the life-altering crash and is proud to tell the tale through his character in “1923.”
Harrison Ford as Jacob Dutton and Helen Mirren as Cara Dutton in “1923.” (James Minchin III/Paramount+)
“There have been five of six of those kinds of things that have shown up in the script, and it’s really remarkable,” Ford told People. “There’s something that feels bigger than myself, and it’s great to be able to serve these ideas.”
The “1923” prequel is the second spinoff to the popular series, which follows the lives of the Dutton family as they run the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch. This series focuses on the Dutton family surviving the early 20th century, including the Spanish flu pandemic, the historic drought in America, the end of Prohibition and the Great Depression.
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Mirren and Ford play Cara and Jacob Dutton, a married couple who manage a family ranch in Montana. The couple faces several challenges during their journey, but remain resilient throughout.
Helen Mirren and Harrison Ford first worked together on “The Mosquito Coast.” (Robin L Marshall/FilmMagic)
Ford revealed that he signed on to the “Yellowstone” prequel before ever seeing a script – the same thing he did with “Shrinking” and “Captain America: Brave New World.” Per the WSJ, Ford signed on to these projects “based on the reputation of the shows’ creators and the broad plans they laid out for him.”
“Again, no script,” he said. “Why not? I saw enough Marvels to see actors that I admired having a good time.”
In 2022, Mirren revealed that she also agreed to star in “1923” before reading a script.
Helen Mirren agreed to star in “1923” before reading a script. (Getty Images)
“I wasn’t hugely familiar with the whole thing. What interested me about (‘1923’), I did see ‘1883,’ and that era of American history has always really fascinated me,” she said during an interview with Variety.
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Mirren added that co-star Ford had the same sentiments and agreed to be a part of the Sheridan franchise without looking at the script first.
“The fact that Harrison was going to be involved was very important for me. Both of us committed to it without really reading any scripts.
Taylor Sheridan is the creator of “Yellowstone” and its spinoffs. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
“We didn’t really know what we were signing up for… the specifics of what we were signing up for. We had trust in Taylor’s extraordinary abilities as a writer, and we took a leap of faith,” Mirren added.
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Fox News Digital’s Stephanie Giang-Paunon contributed to this report.
