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'Blade Runner' Director Claims He Almost Couldn't Hire Harrison Ford
Harrison Ford is beloved for being the star of numerous franchises at this point in his career, but the man wasn't always at the top of the call sheet.
Director Ridley Scott recently spoke about his collaboration with Ford, the 1982 sci-fi classic Blade Runner, in which the actor took on the lead role of Rick Deckard.
"Harrison Ford was not a star yet," Scott told GQ, "He had just finished flying the Millennium Falcon in Star Wars. I remember my financiers saying, 'Who the f--k is Harrison Ford?' 'You're going to find out.' So Harry became my leading man."
While Ford had already won over audiences as Han Solo and Indiana Jones by the time Blade Runner was released, Scott and the film's producer, Michael Deeley, were focused on creating a role for the actor which was different than what he had done before.
"Ford had not been given much of a chance, particularly since Star Wars, to show what he was made of," Deeley is quoted as saying in Future Noir: The Making of Blade Runner. "Both Ridley and I felt Deckard's curious mixture of emerging sensitivity and hard-boiled bureaucracy would offer an excellent chance for Harrison to do that."
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While the financial backers of the film may have been wary of casting Ford, the director and producer were in "unanimous agreement" that he was the guy to bring their dark vision to life.
Blade Runner remains the only time director Scott and actor Ford have made a movie together.