With the release of 1923, Harrison Ford has been making a major leap into the world of television after spending decades as one of the few bonafide movie stars of our time. However, before joining Taylor Sheridan’s sprawling Yellowstone universe, Ford signed on to the upcoming Apple TV+ comedy, Shrinking. Thanks to the Ted Lasso creative team spearheading the project, the show was already looking like a potential new hit for the streaming platform plus it had the added bonus of Jason Segel being in the mix as both the star and a writer.
However, there was just one problem: Ford had no idea who Segel was. Co-creator Bill Lawrence recently shared the tale of how he hooked Ford on Shrinking even though the veteran actor had no clue about the comedy star’s work. Via TV Insider:
Lawrence explains how the call went down.
Ford: “Hey, this is a really good script. Will I be in the second one more?” Lawrence, his voice cracking: “You can be in it as much as you want.” Ford: “Who else is in it?” Lawrence: “I’ll have Jason Segel call you.” Ford: “Who’s Jason Segel?” Lawrence: “Uh, I’ll send you some movies first.”
Despite that little hurdle, co-creator Brett Goldstein said Ford immediately took to Shrinking and he seemed to relish the chance to stretch his comedic chops.
“He really relates to the character and he wanted to do it,” Goldstein said. “Seeing him do comedy, you could see when we had our first read-through, the glee in his eyes getting these huge laughs. He’s f***ing funny. I think it’s a buzz for him to be doing a proper comedy, which he hasn’t really done. And he’s very good at it.”
Shrinking premieres January 27 on Apple TV+.
(Via TV Insider)
