Harrison Ford Says He Takes His Shrinking Character's Parkinson's Journey 'Deadly F—ing Seriously' (Exclusive)

Harrison Ford knows his stuff Shrinkage The character’s Parkinson’s diagnosis is no joke.

When asked how seriously he takes portraying the character of Parkinson’s disease, dr. Paul Rhodes on PaleyLive’s Dinner with Shrinkage On Dec. 12, the 82-year-old told PEOPLE, “Can I say deadly fucking seriously?”

Ford noted that he felt the weight of taking viewers on the journey of Paul’s diagnosis, which was first revealed at the end of the first season of the Apple TV+ series.

Harrison Ford attends the Apple TV+ “Shrinking” Dinner presented by The Paley Center For Media at the Writers Guild Theater on December 12, 2024 in Beverly Hills, California.

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“We have no intention of joking,” he explained. “But there are people who absorb these experiences with grace, courage and a little wisdom. And that doesn’t mean some people don’t.”

“I just want to say that this is a person uniquely equipped to convey what it is, and that’s something that I feel is worth sharing with our audience,” he added.

Series co-creator and writer Brett Goldstein opened up about the inspiration behind the character during an appearance on Late Night with Seth Meyers last month, admitting that he hadn’t initially planned to reveal that Ford’s character was based on his father.

Harrison Ford in ‘Downsizing’.

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“So my dad has Parkinson’s, and that’s not something we wanted to talk about publicly when we were talking about the show,” he explained. “And then [writer] Bill Lawrence happened to miss it, and I called my dad and I said, ‘Listen, Dad, Bill said you have Parkinson’s. I hope that’s not a problem.’”

He continued, “And my dad said, ‘Are you telling everybody I’m Harrison Ford?’ And I said, ‘Yeah,’ and he said, ‘Damn great. Go ahead. Please go ahead.’”

In October, Ford opened an interview with Vanity Fair about his work in the hit comedy series and why he continued to act at the age of 82.

“Oh man, I’m getting out of that crucial human contact,” Ford said when asked what he got out of continuing to act. “I have to imagine with people who have great skill and experience… It’s fun to work with these people.”

“I always enjoyed humor. I liked jokes. I liked to construct jokes,” he added. “My father was a joke teller. Coming up with words and the ideas behind a joke have always interested me. When I thought about becoming an actor, I was ambitious for both types of work — serious drama and comedy. I found myself doing both and not making a big difference between them.”

– I think I think about a joke with the same actor’s head as I do about a serious or emotional scene – he concluded.

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Shrinkage season 2 can be streamed on AppleTV+.

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Source: HIS Education