Harrison Ford Gives the Action Genre Something More

Sandra Kraisirideja
Harrison Ford is such a formidable force in American cinema that he’s actually created his own genre.

At least that’s what Paul Bettany, who stars opposite Ford in “Firewall,” opening Feb. 10, thinks.

The Harrison Ford genre, according to Bettany, breaks down like this: “affable, likeable, executive is turned into animal to protect family.”

It’s a good way to describe “Firewall” and “Air Force One,” but what connects those films with Ford’s other thrillers, such as ”Patriot Games” and “Clear and Present Danger” is the actor’s knack for making his characters appear ordinary and superhuman a the same time.

As Jack Stanfield in “Firewall,” Ford plays a security executive at a bank who is forced to transfer millions into the offshore bank account of a calculating thief, Bill Cox (Bettany), or his wife and children, who are being held hostage by the robbers, will be murdered.

The role requires Ford to command in-depth, technological knowledge of networks and computer systems. While his own expertise may not extend that far, Ford has been using computers in his own life for quite some time.

“I’m fairly comfortable with computers. What was important in this case was to test the theory of our technology on people in the banking community and people in the computer world,” said Harrison, who sported a gray, bushy goattee and one hoop earring while at the Regent Beverly Wilshire promoting the film.

There are a few intense physical scenes in the movie, but not enough to label it an action film, Ford said.

“This is not a physical movie. This is a movie that only has brief moments of physical confrontation in it. It’s a movie about suspense and tension. It’s not an action film,” he said.

Ford said he does not set out to do movies within a particular genre. “I want to work with the best dramatic material that I can. And it often happens that when you tell stories of conflict between characters it comes to a physical confrontation. That is the nature of film,” he said.

Ford’s own brand of action is not about having muscles or big guns, but about using internal strength to accomplish what needs to be done.

The little nuances he gives his characters are all part of the storytelling process, he said. Ford doesn’t decide to keep his character’s weaknesses—several times in “Firewall” his character stumbles—but puts them in purposefully.

“That’s the kind of thing that I think is an observation of how people behave under those circumstances. It reflects the reality of that kind of circumstance,” he said.

Ford has a reputation for being a man of few words, but neither Bettany nor Madsen found his demeanor effected the mood on the set.

“Harrison is like a real man’s man…and he reminds me of a lot of the men that I grew up around in Chicago, like he’s almost like a blue collar guy.

“I never found it uncomfortable to be around him because he was never mean, never rude,” said Madsen, who plays Ford’s wife in the movie. “He’s really good to the crew, the crew liked working with him a lot because of his no nonsense attitude. He just comes and he does his job.”

Bettany said he took a part in the film because of Ford and enjoyed working with the veteran actor.

“I think he absolutely fulfills all your expectations. He is very similar to what you think you’re going to get, and that’s probably why he’s such a big movie star,” Bettany said.

Ford had an equal amount of praise for his co-star, whom he described as a skilled and instinctive actor. “You’re playing a game of catch in a lot of the scenes between us and he pays attention. He knows how hard to throw the ball back. He knows how to work,” Ford said.

While the younger generation in Hollywood multi-tasks by branching out into singing, directing and producing, Ford is content to remain an actor.

He has not considered directing and finds acting stimulating because it’s a complicated problem that he has spend his life understanding.

Ford remains an actor because “I get to participate as an actor in filmmaking, which is a group activity and I like working with people on a problem and because they pay me money to do it.”