Harrison Ford says new Marvel role wasn’t ‘terribly difficult’

‘Just another day at the office,’ the actor said

Harrison Ford wasn’t too stressed about his performance in his latest role.

The Hollywood star, 82, is set to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe next year in Captain America: Brave New World. He will play Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross aka Red Hulk.

Speaking in an interview with Empire, Ford said the Marvel shoot was  “just another day at the office” and his role wasn’t a “terribly difficult acting proposition”.

He explained: “I tried to understand the ambition of the filmmakers, and to be useful to them.

“I just didn’t sit home at night and say, ‘Oh, what do I want to do when I turn into the Hulk?’ It didn’t seem to me to be a terribly difficult acting proposition.”

Ford takes over the role of Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross from the late William Hurt, who played the character in numerous films between 2008 and 2021.

He admitted he was “a little concerned” about stepping into the shoes of the late star, adding: “I was ambitious to find the right way of assuming this character after the audience had seen other people doing it.

Harrison Ford as Thaddeus Ross/Red Hulk in ‘Captain America: Brave New World’ (Marvel Studios)

He continued: “I’m only slightly familiar with the Marvel Universe — I live in another universe — but I have watched a number of Marvel films with wonderful actors, apparently having a good time. And I thought, ‘Well, why not me?’”

Although Ford felt relaxed about filming for the forthcoming Marvel movie, director Julius Onah said everyone on set thought his performance was “mind blowing”.

“All of us on set were like, ‘Holy f****** s***, he nailed it,’” Onah said. “It’s really great to get back to a Hulk that is just f****** breaking shit, and a rage monster.”

Liv Tyler and William Hurt in ‘The Incredible Hulk’ (Marvel Enterprises/Kobal/Shutterstock)

It comes shortly after Harrison recently gave some advice to any actors actively avoiding Marvel roles.

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“We’re silly if we sit around regretting the change and don’t participate,” he said.

“I’m participating in a new part of the business that, for me at least, I think is really producing some good experiences for an audience. I enjoy that.”

Ford is no stranger to blockbuster franchises, of course, having played Han Solo in Star Wars and Indiana Jones across the decades.

Ford in ‘Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny’ (Disney)

He added: “I understand the appeal of other kinds of films besides the kind we made in the Eighties and Nineties.

“I don’t have anything general to say about it. It’s the condition our condition is in, and things change and morph and go on.”

Captain American: Brave New World will be released on 14 February, 2025.