Harrison Ford Inspires Cast in New Comedy ‘Shrinking’

Harrison Ford and the cast attend the premiere of Apple TV+'s "Shrinking" at Directors Guild of America, Los Angeles, California, US, January 26, 2023. (Reuters)
Harrison Ford and the cast attend the premiere of Apple TV+'s "Shrinking" at Directors Guild of America, Los Angeles, California, US, January 26, 2023. (Reuters)
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Harrison Ford Inspires Cast in New Comedy ‘Shrinking’

Harrison Ford and the cast attend the premiere of Apple TV+'s "Shrinking" at Directors Guild of America, Los Angeles, California, US, January 26, 2023. (Reuters)
Harrison Ford and the cast attend the premiere of Apple TV+'s "Shrinking" at Directors Guild of America, Los Angeles, California, US, January 26, 2023. (Reuters)

When Bill Lawrence was developing his new Apple TV+ comedy ”Shrinking,” he introduced one character in the pilot script as a “Harrison Ford-type” — but never dreamed he would get the real deal.

Although the showrunner has had comedy success working with big names and executive-producing hits like “Scrubs,” “Cougar Town” and “Ted Lasso,” nabbing a huge movie star like Ford seemed unrealistic. But he decided to take a shot and send Ford the script.

He was gobsmacked when the “Indiana Jones” actor liked the story and eventually agreed to play the part of a tough therapist who works with star Jason Segel in a mental health practice.

“If he had not shown up on set, I would not have been shocked,” Lawrence told the Associated Press in a recent interview. “But he showed up. He’s lovely, he’s inspiring. He’s 80 years old and still challenging himself.”

For “Shrinking” — which starts streaming Friday — Lawrence teamed with Segel and writer Brett Goldstein (also Roy Kent in “Ted Lasso”) to help create and write the show. They had the lofty goal of making a comedy about grief, set it in an office shared by therapists and starring Segel, Ford, Jessica Williams, and Christa Miller.

Segel plays a character whose wife dies suddenly, leaving the father of a teen daughter lost and willing to ignore his ethics to start telling his patients what he really thinks. Ford's character is a curmudgeonly colleague and mentor who delivers zingers with restrained glee.

Lawrence calls working with Ford a “career highlight,” and says there’s only one downside.

“Everybody’s terrified of … telling him to do anything,” Lawrence said with a laugh. “But he’s so much fun to work with. Every scene gets ruined — at least one take — by me or one of the actors in the middle of it going ‘It’s Harrison Ford!’ It’s crazy.”

Goldstein — who isn't acting in this show but serves as another executive producer — describes Ford as “dream casting” and says they still don’t know how they got him.

“He really loved the scripts and related to a lot of the aspects of the character,” Goldstein said. “We talked to him a lot about character, and it was so easy that … I feel like I should have had to complete a series of Herculean tasks to get him, you know what I mean?”

Segel appreciated how Ford “breaks through the awe really quickly so that you can get down to work.”

“One of the things that’s really cool about Harrison Ford is that he considers himself a tradesman, like a craftsman. He was a carpenter and now he’s an actor,” Segel said. “His job is to come in and build these scenes and you’re his partner in that.”

Williams — who plays another therapist — shares witty banter with Ford in many scenes and says it was "surreal” to work with the acting legend she watched in movies as a kid. She says it took about a week to remain present and get used to his face staring at her.

“He is delightful, charming, nice, giving. And he’s magic to watch, honestly,” Williams said. “You just watch him do some takes and … he’s got the glimmer in his eye. He’s got the thing. And it’s really inspiring to see someone that’s like over 80 hitting his marks and staying so sharp while also, you know, really caring about the work.”

Goldstein agrees that Ford never made the cast feel like he needed special treatment.

“He’s as wonderful and amazing as ever,” Goldstein said. “But he’s also a very generous actor and he is part of this ensemble. It’s not like he takes over. He fits into this world. He plays the character, he disappears into it. He’s a brilliant actor.”

Williams says working on the show was fun because of the cast chemistry, and the license to ad lib at times to make scenes funnier felt “very fulfilling.”

One of the secrets to a successful show, especially in comedy — according to Lawrence — is if the cast gets along and is friendly, even outside of the show. “We try to put together groups of people that have similar voices and that interact really well,” Lawrence said.

“If you see a lack of chemistry behind the camera, even when the cameras aren’t rolling,” he said, “if it’s a show about a family or a dysfunctional family or people who are supposed to care about each other, it won’t work.”



Oscar Presenters Will Include Selena Gomez, Oprah Winfrey

An Oscar statue appears at the 91st Academy Awards Nominees Luncheon, Feb. 4, 2019, in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Photo by Danny Moloshok/Invision/AP, File)
An Oscar statue appears at the 91st Academy Awards Nominees Luncheon, Feb. 4, 2019, in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Photo by Danny Moloshok/Invision/AP, File)
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Oscar Presenters Will Include Selena Gomez, Oprah Winfrey

An Oscar statue appears at the 91st Academy Awards Nominees Luncheon, Feb. 4, 2019, in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Photo by Danny Moloshok/Invision/AP, File)
An Oscar statue appears at the 91st Academy Awards Nominees Luncheon, Feb. 4, 2019, in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Photo by Danny Moloshok/Invision/AP, File)

After devastating wildfires tore through Los Angeles, the 97th Academy Awards are going forward.

Like the Grammys and other awards shows this year, the ceremony will be transformed by the fires and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has pledged to help its members and the broader film community recover.

Here’s everything you need to know about this year’s show:

When are the Oscars? The Academy Awards will be held on Sunday, March 2, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. The show, to be broadcast live by ABC, is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. Eastern/4 p.m. Pacific, The AP reported.

Are the Oscars streaming? For the first time, the Oscars will be streamed live on Hulu. You can also watch via Hulu Live TV, YouTubeTV, AT&T TV and FuboTV. With authentication from your provider, you can watch on ABC.com and the ABC app.

Who's hosting the Oscars? For the first time, Conan O’Brien is hosting the Academy Awards. O’Brien, the late-night host turned podcaster and occasional movie star, said upon the announcement: “America demanded it and now it’s happening: Taco Bell’s new Cheesy Chalupa Supreme. In other news, I’m hosting the Oscars.”

How have the wildfires altered the show? The wildfires that consumed large parts of Los Angeles in early January led some to call for the cancellation of the Academy Awards. The academy twice postponed the announcement of nominations but never pushed the March 2 date of the ceremony. Academy leaders have argued the show must go ahead, for their economic impact on Los Angeles and as a symbol of resilience.

Organizers have vowed this year’s awards will “celebrate the work that unites us as a global film community and acknowledge those who fought so bravely against the wildfires.”

Still, the fires have curtailed much of the usual frothiness of Hollywood's awards season. The film academy canceled its annual nominees luncheon.

For many involved in the Oscars, the fires have been felt acutely. O'Brien's Pacific Palisades home survived but his family has been unable to go back to it. O'Brien's assistant and podcast co-host Sona Movsesian lost her home.

“I know so many people who lost their homes and I’m just, was ridiculously lucky,” O’Brien told The Associated Press. “So we want to make sure that that show reflects what’s happening and that we put a light on the right people in the right way.”

Who's presenting at the Oscars? More stars were added to the presenter lineup Wednesday, including Selena Gomez, Oprah Winfrey, Joe Alwyn, Goldie Hawn, Ben Stiller, Ana de Armas, Sterling K. Brown, Willem Dafoe, Lily-Rose Depp and Connie Nielsen. They'll join the likes of Halle Berry, Penélope Cruz, Elle Fanning, Whoopi Goldberg, Scarlett Johansson, John Lithgow, Amy Poehler, June Squibb and Bowen Yang, as well as last year's acting winners — Emma Stone, Robert Downey Jr., Cillian Murphy, Da’Vine Joy Randolph — on the Oscar stage. Though the academy initially said it would bring back the “fab five” style of presenting the acting awards, with five previous winners per category, organizers have reportedly abandoned those plans for this year’s ceremony. Nick Offerman will also be participating as the Oscars announcer.

Will there be any performances? The academy has announced that, unlike previous years, the original song nominees will not be performed this time. That doesn't mean there won't be music, though. “Wicked,” one of the biggest box-office hits of 2024, could feasibly figure into the Oscar plans. (Its songs weren't eligible for best song since, hailing from the Broadway musical, they aren't original to the movie.)

What's nominated for best picture? The 10 nominees for best picture are: “Anora”; “The Brutalist”; “A Complete Unknown”; “Conclave”; “Dune: Part 2”; “Emilia Pérez”; “I’m Still Here”; “Nickel Boys”; “The Substance”; “Wicked”

How can I watch the Oscar-nominated films? Some of the nominees are still in theaters, but many of this year’s Oscar nominees are streaming on various platforms. The AP has this handy guide to help with Oscar cramming.

Who are the favorites? More than most years, that’s a tricky question, but a front-runner has emerged after “Anora” took the top awards at the Producers Guild and the Directors Guild over the weekend. The best picture race had been seen as unusually wide open, with “Anora,” “Conclave,” “The Brutalist,” “A Complete Unknown” and “Emilia Pérez” all having legitimate hopes of winning. In the acting categories, Demi Moore (“The Substance”) is favored for best actress, although Mikey Madison's BAFTA win for “Anora” makes it more of a race. Adrien Brody (“The Brutalist”) is most likely in best actor, Zoe Saldaña (“Emilia Pérez”) is the supporting actress front-runner and Kieran Culkin (“A Real Pain”) is the favorite for best supporting actor. None of those awards, however, is considered definite locks.

What's the deal with ‘Emilia Pérez’? Jacques Audiard’s “Emilia Pérez,” a narco-musical about a Mexican drug lord who undergoes gender affirming surgery, comes in with a leading 13 nominations. The film, at one point, seemed like Netflix’s best chance yet to land the streamer its first best picture win. Its star, Karla Sofía Gascón, made history by becoming the first openly trans actor nominated for an Oscar.

But no nominee has had a rockier post-nominations Oscar campaign. After old offensive tweets by Gascón were uncovered, the actress issued an apology. The fallout, though, has badly damaged a movie that was already a divisive contender, and led Netflix to radically refocus its flagging campaign.