Mads Mikkelsen, who is set star in Indiana Jones 5, praises his co-star Harrison Ford’s physicality. Ford first appeared as Dr. Henry Walton "Indiana" Jones, Jr. in George Lucas and Steven Spielberg’s Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981). He then went on to reprise his iconic role in Temple of Doom (1984), The Last Crusade (1989), and, most recently, Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)—all of which were helmed by Spielberg. Following Disney’s acquisition of Lucasfilm in 2012, a fifth installment in the franchise was shelved for many years.
In 2020, Spielberg stepped down as a director, acting solely as an executive producer while James Mangold stepped in to direct and co-write the script for Indiana Jones 5 which is set to arrive in theaters on June 30, 2023. Even though filming has wrapped, much mystery still surrounds the plot of Ford’s latest outing as the titular archaeologist. What is known is that the adventure boasts an impressive ensemble that includes Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Toby Jones, Antonio Banderas, Oliver Richters, Thomas Kretschmann, Boyd Holbrook, Shaunette Renée Wilson, and Mikkelsen, the latter of whom had nothing but great things to say about Ford.
In a recent interview with THR, Mikkelsen discussed the ever-resilient Ford. Without giving anything away bout the plot of Indiana Jones 5, he praised Ford’s physicality when asked how the 79-year-old actor was doing following reports he injured his shoulder on set. Read the full quote below:
“It was the first time I met him, and he’s an insanely powerful person. Not just as an actor, but physically. I remember the first day we were shooting, it was a night shoot, then we stopped at 5 a.m. — and then he got on his mountain bike and went biking for 50 kilometers. Harrison is a monster of a man, a very nice monster.”
When it was reported last June that Ford was injured while rehearsing a fight scene for Indiana Jones 5, Disney released a statement saying that production would continue as “the appropriate course of treatment” was evaluated. Not five months later, Mangold said that production was moving forward as expected, implying Ford made a swift recovery. Ford was also injured while filming Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) when a door fell on his leg—another injury he bounced back from before finishing his work on the sequel.
It seems Ford is doing everything in his power to avoid letting the years slow him down. Being that Indiana Jones 5 will likely be his last time playing his definitive “Indy” role, it makes sense that he would want to give it everything he has. As for Mikkelsen, rumors suggest he’s playing a former Nazi scientist who has been recruited to help the United States with the moon landing initiative of the 1960s. Fans should expect to find out more about Mikkelsen’s role opposite the “monster of a man” that is Ford sooner rather than later as Mangold has teased the release of Indiana Jones 5's trailer.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
