Harrison Ford: "Too old, me? I am in good shape !"

Which class! Harrison Ford is waiting for us in a hotel suite in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, in a chic but relaxed suit. At 77, he looks fifteen less. Shaven up close, smiling, the actor, met last Friday, is that day very different from John Thornton, the character created by Jack London that he embodies in "The Call of the forest", a gruff gold digger , bearded and marked by dramas who will befriend a dog. Meet a legend, whose career has been marked by prominent roles like Han Solo in the saga "Star Wars", Rick Deckard in "Blade Runner" or Indiana Jones ...

After all your science fiction characters, "Star Wars", "Blade Runner 2049", this film was a way to return to someone authentic, far from technology?

HARRISON FORD. No. For me, the job does not change, whatever the universe of the film. My job is to tell a story through a character, his behavior. And to achieve this, I only have my experience, I will always draw from my own life.

How did you find the John Thornton from the film, which differs a bit from that of Jack London's book?

The character was further developed for the film, which draws a parallel between his destiny and that of the dog Buck. Their relationship highlights their past and allows them to come true: Buck will be fulfilled in Nature, Thornton will have the courage to face the disappointments and failures that have marked his life. I like this type of story, which shows the benefits of one character for another, the way in which each can evolve thanks to the other.

You have been very involved for a long time in environmental conservation associations. This film, which tells a return to Nature, is a way to support your actions?

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I am very involved in these great causes, it is true, but I do not want to do it in a pedantic way. I am not a preacher, I prefer that people form their own experience. Fighting for the environment through "The Call of the Forest", allows spectators to feel emotions, with the hope that they will understand that Nature has something powerful, majestic, and that respecting it, they will be able to connect more to it. I do a job that offers lots of privileges ... The least thing is that I try to offer something to those who do not have this good life, soothe their difficulties, stimulate their imagination, elevate their spirit and their ambitions.

You play in the film in front of a virtual dog, created in digital images. How was this very special shoot?

Buck's movements were captured during filming and recreated from those of Cirque du Soleil artist and actor, Terry Notary, who specializes in animal gestures. It was amazing. Those who have pets know how our perception of the signs they send us can make us interpret their reactions in a very "human" way. But they are animals, and they see us as animals, they feel our emotions, our anxiety, our kindness. Terry had the ability to make all of this feel, also leaving me room for what I had to interpret, namely a very connected relationship with this dog who was not one, since he consists of computer generated images.

Harrison Ford plays a gold digger. He plays in front of the Buck dog created in digital images./ Twentieth Century Fox Film Corpo

You have very physical scenes, including a hellish descent of rapids by canoe. Have you been doubled?

No, it is the magic of cinema, the canoe was a setting articulated on a basin, I only had to imagine the river, and play the fight between the movements of my arms on the oar and the force of the water, sometimes facing Terry who mimed Buck's attitudes!

Do you still agree to play a bit extreme stunt scenes?

… Or have I become too old, is that the point of your question? ( laughs ) Well no, I am not physically weakened, I still practice tennis assiduously, I go diving, and especially hiking in the mountains, with family (Editor's note: he lives with the actress of the series " Ally McBeal ”Calista Flockhart and her 19-year-old adopted son Liam) . Not all the mountains, not Everest for example, but Kilimanjaro, yes! I had a lot of accidents in my life, the last one by plane very close to here, in Los Angeles, in 2015 (Editor's note: his two-seater had hit a tree after an engine failure) but it is the life.

The “Indiana Jones 5” project has just been confirmed. Are you happy to find this character and the director Steven Spielberg?

Yes, it will happen fairly quickly. I am delighted. I don't like doing the same thing forever, but I have no problem replaying a character if the script takes him to new territories. For Indiana Jones, the arrival, in the third installment in 1989, of Sean Connery in the role of my father made my character change. What will be interesting for the next one is all that is going to be new. This is also what happened with the "Star Wars" saga. This is what I like about my job: we are always moving towards new challenges, new places, new meetings. And it's risky.

Why risky?

Because the danger of making a bad film is always present. There is real pressure. Admittedly, I'm used to it, but I take this risk very seriously, I feel responsible for the quality on arrival.