Harrison Ford is notorious when it comes to interviews. So much so that when I got the opportunity to talk to him at San Diego Comic-Con on the Marvel press line, I was more than nervous. I was terrified. Ford was at the 2024 SDCC to promote Captain America: Brave New World, where he plays Thaddeus ‘Thunderbolt’ Ross. His alter ego is the Red Hulk, with Ford himself pretending to Hulk out in Hall H after being welcomed to the stage by co-star Anthony Mackie.
Knowing that Ford was going to enter the room and start the press line at any second, I began a plan of attack. Because again, Ford is notorious for his interviews. And I wasn’t going to get caught unprepared!
In a previous Esquire interview he talked about his disdain for questions like ‘If there was a fight between Han Solo and Indiana Jones, who would win?’ In another interview with GamesRadar+, he made it clear he isn’t interested in talking about his older movies, saying, “I just want to get through the day with some degree of self-respect left.” And when writing up this post I found out that he told Entertainment Weekly at Comic-Con, “I will not answer that stupid question.”
Deep into research mode I watched Harrison Ford enter the room and slowly make his way down the line of reporters and outlets. And when it finally was my turn, I asked him my question and promptly blacked out. It wasn’t until he smiled at me and said, “Thank you, it was nice talking to you.” that I came back to my body. That…wasn’t what I expected. And looking back at the question I asked, sure, he was a bit grumpy and curmudgeon. But doing that research on Ford helped. Loads.
So what did I ask about? His love of over 30 years: Flying.
In the Esquire interview I previously mentioned, he said, “I will not be buried under a stone that says actor,” and how, “For me, flying is as important a part of my life as my business. It’s not like playing golf.” He also talked about working with the organization Young Eagles, a program launched in 1992 that’s dedicated to giving youth between the ages of 8-17 their first ride in an airplane.
During that interview, he spoke about how “Flying is the tension between freedom and responsibility.” He also said, “That’s what’s so exciting about these kids, the Young Eagles. You fly ’em over their house and it’s the first time they really know where they live.” So knowing that kids are going to watch this movie and see Captain America and Falcon flying around, I asked the Harrison Ford if he was ready for the kids that would be interested in learning how to fly after watching Brave New World?
He answered in a very Harrison Ford way.
“We fly with airplanes,” Ford said, “It’s a little more complicated than having a super suit.” He then started laughing and said, “This movie is about a lot of things. Not really about flying. Although flying is part of it, it’s not about flying. So I’m not too worried that people will try to jump out of a window to fly.”
That’s where the record-screech moment happened in my brain and I assured Ford that I meant that kids would want to learn how to fly in actual planes after watching Brave New World. Not super suits. Not flinging themselves out of windows. But planes. Ford them locked back into the conversation and said, “Well that’s a good thing. Because [flying] takes a real investment of responsibility, discipline, and you come out of it a better human being.”
That’s when he smiled at me, went to hand me back my mic, before he brought it back to himself and said, “Thank you, it was nice talking to you.” Talk about a core memory being formed.
Captain America: Brave New World hits theaters on February 14, 2025.
