Harrison Ford talks ‘The Call of the Wild’ and what else he wants to accomplish creatively
‘The Call of the Wild’ star Harrison Ford dishes on recreating Jack London’s classic novel and the lifelong advice George Lucas gave him.
LOS ANGELES – Harrison Ford is trading in human co-stars for man’s best friend in his latest film, but he still remembers what George Lucas told him many years ago.
The Hollywood legend stars in the big-screen adaptation of Jack London’s “The Call of the Wild” alongside a sensitive, ambitious pup named Buck. But instead of using a trained dog, Benji-style, this movie pup is 100 percent computer-generated.
When filming, Ford worked with former Cirque du Soleil performer Terry Notary, who was the live-action stand-in for Buck, complete with dog-centric mannerisms and behaviors.
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“I'm very, very good at not seeing him as a human. But I see him as a dog. I mean, because I've had dogs in my life,” Ford told Fox News of working with Notary. “I remember the experience I’m playing. I'm treating him like I would treat a dog and he's treating me as a dog might, emotionally. And so that contact, that’s very helpful. Very important.”
The film's producer Erwin Stoff said the idea of using Notary was a gamble.
“It was an odd idea and I didn’t know how the cast would react to it because you’ve got a grown man who is on all fours, in a funny gray suit with these prosthetic front legs playing a dog,” Stoff said. “But it turned out to be a genius move because Terry gives us such a committed portrayal that it improved every actor’s performance.”
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Harrison Ford, left, appears in 'The Call of the Wild' with his digitally-created co-star pooch, Buck. (20th Century Fox)
Ford, 77, plays John Thornton, a man who ventures to the Alaskan wilderness in order to “run away from complications in his life that he’s unable to face.” Ford said he appreciates the film’s ability to strike a familiar chord with the audience through its underlying message.
“[Thornton's] relationship with Buck leads him to the place where he can recommit to redressing the failures of his past at the same time that Buck is finding his destiny,” Ford explained.
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“I know I can remember personal moments in my life, but not so much in my career," Ford admitted. "But look, this is about the opportunity to gain courage and a quietude that comes in the context of the isolation and the pure beauty of nature, which generates a kind of peace and out of that comes this relationship."
Despite his more than 40 years in the film business, Ford said he marvels at every acting opportunity that comes his way, and remembers what his "Star Wars" director-producer buddy used to say when they were filming.
Harrison Ford, left, Mark Hamill and George Lucas stand together at Hamill's Hollywood Walk of Fame star ceremony. (Reuters)
“George Lucas used to have – as a director, [he] would often say at the end of a take, 'OK, do another one,' and [I would] say, 'Well, what would – do you want me to change something?' And George would say, 'Same thing, only better,'" Ford recalled.
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“Well, there's always better,” he continued. “So I love the craft and I love the storytelling aspect of what I get to do. I work in collaboration with other people and that gives me great pleasure. If I could just get to do the same thing, only better – that would be enough for me.”
“The Call of the Wild” is currently playing in theaters.
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