Why did Harrison decline as a star between 2001 and 2015?

Raiders90

Well-known member
In the 80s and 90s, Harrison was at the very top of the A-List in Hollywood, starring in hit after hit. He had only two lesser grossing films in this period, and entered the new millenium with What Lies Beneath, a commercial if not critical hit. But besides KOTCS, Harrison seemed to have fallen into a slump in the 00s and 10s, falling deeper into commercial failure as an actor until TFA revived his career.

My question is, why? Was it poor movie choices? Ford fatigue? Or what?
 

axelan

New member
All I know is he is probably my all time favorite actor. It doesn't matter what movie he is in, there is at least one moment where I find myself laughing because of something he said that I found funny in the way he said it.
 

Pale Horse

Moderator
Staff member
Raiders112390 said:
In the 80s and 90s, Harrison was at the very top of the A-List in Hollywood, starring in hit after hit. He had only two lesser grossing films in this period, and entered the new millenium with What Lies Beneath, a commercial if not critical hit. But besides KOTCS, Harrison seemed to have fallen into a slump in the 00s and 10s, falling deeper into commercial failure as an actor until TFA revived his career.

My question is, why? Was it poor movie choices? Ford fatigue? Or what?

Most likely the alcohol, if not the weed.
 

Joosse

New member
Very few actors can continue their career into their sixties, especially when they are known for playing action heroes. The fact that Harrison Ford is still around, and had never declined in my view, is the exception.
 

Finn

Moderator
Staff member
The OP has a funny conception of Mr. Ford's career, if he thinks TFA "revived" it. Looking at his filmography, one could argue he's never ceased to be an A-lister, and even if he did, the spell certainly didn't last all the way to 2015.

Ford's rock bottom was arguably between 2002 and 2008. After starring in the K-19 Widowmaker in 2002, he did only two movies between the years mentioned, Hollywood Homicide (2003) and Firewall (2006), both of which were considered not very good.

If there was a year that could be considered a "rise back to stardom" (if he ever lost it), it was 2008, when he starred in what was his last movie where he was the undisputed leading man, and also what's been his biggest BO hit to date in such a role (at least as far as the raw numbers are considered, since it's often been said we should look past those, with good reason). And the movie? Well, I think everyone who stumbles upon this thread should know what it is.

Since then, Ford has mostly starred in a continuous string of respectable movies, both critically and commercially (Morning Glory, Cowboys & Aliens, 42, The Age of Adaline), though maybe they weren't huge hits and one could say he's never got back to where he was in the 90s. His last top billing was Crossing Over in 2009, but that was an episodic movie, so we could say his final leading role - to date at least - is that little movie we don't talk about.

In fact, it's down right hilarious to say his career was "revived" by TFA, given the friggin' sample size following the piece, which to date consists of Blade Runner 2049. And even that piece, while a critical success, was a BO failure. (Incidentally, just like the original.) Not to mention despite using Ford's presence heavily in marketing, neither film itself was a vehicle built around him. Heh, following TFA, Ford's even done voice work, in LEGO Star Wars - The Force Awakens video game, and in the upcoming The Secret Life of Pets 2, and such work is not generally considered a sign that an actor's career is going uphill. Though this might be another piece of intellectual dishonesty, since the respectability of such work has improved, along with its production values.

While we can say that Mr. Ford's star did sink a bit coming into the new millennium, it never sunk to a level requiring a "revival". And the reason for the initial sinking is simple - he aged. And before somebody gets his knickers in a twist, let it be said that there's nothing dramatic about it. He simply hit the typical career bump various other A-listers have when they reach their mid-50s. That's when producers start looking for younger stars for their biggest blockbusters. Yet it doesn't make the previous top dogs Hollywood pariahs. They still keep receiving work, and it's good, respectable work - and sometimes they even get top billings - but the glory days are gone.
 

IndyBuff

Well-known member
I think Ford's name still draws a crowd and a sizable amount of respect. He did take some pretty bizarre and bad roles throughout the 2000's, but Ford is also someone who takes roles that interest him, even if they're not the most popular. I think he's still doing incredibly well and most people I talk with still like him. It's only natural that age will diminish some of that star power but he's done better than many others in the same position.
 
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Pale Horse

Moderator
Staff member
Finn said:
...the glory days are gone.

TbyVyx0.gif
 

TheFirebird1

Active member
Finn said:
The OP has a funny conception of Mr. Ford's career, if he thinks TFA "revived" it. Looking at his filmography, one could argue he's never ceased to be an A-lister, and even if he did, the spell certainly didn't last all the way to 2015.

Ford's rock bottom was arguably between 2002 and 2008. After starring in the K-19 Widowmaker in 2002, he did only two movies between the years mentioned, Hollywood Homicide (2003) and Firewall (2006), both of which were considered not very good.

If there was a year that could be considered a "rise back to stardom" (if he ever lost it), it was 2008, when he starred in what was his last movie where he was the undisputed leading man, and also what's been his biggest BO hit to date in such a role (at least as far as the raw numbers are considered, since it's often been said we should look past those, with good reason). And the movie? Well, I think everyone who stumbles upon this thread should know what it is.

Since then, Ford has mostly starred in a continuous string of respectable movies, both critically and commercially (Morning Glory, Cowboys & Aliens, 42, The Age of Adaline), though maybe they weren't huge hits and one could say he's never got back to where he was in the 90s. His last top billing was Crossing Over in 2009, but that was an episodic movie, so we could say his final leading role - to date at least - is that little movie we don't talk about.

In fact, it's down right hilarious to say his career was "revived" by TFA, given the friggin' sample size following the piece, which to date consists of Blade Runner 2049. And even that piece, while a critical success, was a BO failure. (Incidentally, just like the original.) Not to mention despite using Ford's presence heavily in marketing, neither film itself was a vehicle built around him. Heh, following TFA, Ford's even done voice work, in LEGO Star Wars - The Force Awakens video game, and in the upcoming The Secret Life of Pets 2, and such work is not generally considered a sign that an actor's career is going uphill. Though this might be another piece of intellectual dishonesty, since the respectability of such work has improved, along with its production values.

While we can say that Mr. Ford's star did sink a bit coming into the new millennium, it never sunk to a level requiring a "revival". And the reason for the initial sinking is simple - he aged. And before somebody gets his knickers in a twist, let it be said that there's nothing dramatic about it. He simply hit the typical career bump various other A-listers have when they reach their mid-50s. That's when producers start looking for younger stars for their biggest blockbusters. Yet it doesn't make the previous top dogs Hollywood pariahs. They still keep receiving work, and it's good, respectable work - and sometimes they even get top billings - but the glory days are gone.
Pretty much seconded entirely. Raiders, I don't know why you perceive Harrison's career as tumbling downhill for fourteen years. Most of the movies he was in post-CS have done quite well at the box office, and were at least somewhat enjoyable.
(By the way, I was watching Hollywood Homicide last night to torture myself, and I must say that this scene was unequivocally the lowest of his career:


And for the people who say HF can't act, just look at the determination in this scene. It's the only part of the movie that made me laugh, mostly out of sheer disbelief/amusement.
Is Indy's earring canon, now?
 

Nerdpants

Well-known member
I would say that his career did slump since 2000 or so.

He has had some successes since that time, but nothing massive outside sequels to films from the 80s.

What happened? Probably just got a bit unlucky with film choices. He starred with some talented actors like Daniel Craig and Diane Keaton, but nothing really took off.

If he scored himself a good film during this time (almost did with Syriana), it may have changed his filmtography after that entirely.
 

FordFan

Well-known member
He didn't transition into supporting roles at the right time/ went through a divorce and worked less 🤷‍♂️

Turning down Michael Douglas' part in "Traffic" was the Sliding Doors moment. It would have endeared him to working with Soderbergh and other younger directors, and probably would've gotten him an Oscar. If not that, "Syriana", which he also turned down.

The man tried for different, but it was the wrong kind of different ("K-19" and "Hollywood Homicide"). Then went back to doing what he was too familiar with ("Firewall" and KOTCS). I personally think he picked some of his most interesting roles in the last 15 years.
 

British Raider

Well-known member
The problem is that in the 00s once brands became more important and stars weren’t needed to sell them the type of movies that were blockbusters of their time became “indie” and we suddenly have someone like Tom Cruise doing only Mission Impossibles or movies like it. Because his types of movies - dramas - like Rain Man and Jerry Maguire wouldn’t get made the same way now. Nobody makes Witness, Working Girl etc anymore other than as a “indie”. Or a movie like Air Force One that was sold on the back of its star is now a Gerard Butler action movie with a lower budget. And probably thrown on Prime after a brief cinema release.
 

Forbidden Eye

Well-known member
One reason that’s been speculated on The Raven before is that he’s never really chased that Oscar or at the very least sought out to collaborate with esteemed directors. Which is why at times it seems his big 80s “franchises” are the only things keeping him relevant(although noteworthy this thread was made before his two big tv shows debuted).

Of all the actors that are also in his age range, he’s similar to Sylvester Stallone, in that he has shown rare instances of real skill and ability in acting (in both cases one of those instances being a James Mangold film) but most of the time chooses not to push and challenge himself and instead stays in his comfort zone.

And hey, nothing wrong with that. It seems to have served him pretty well so far.
 
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