Harrison Ford took his role in Apple TV+’s Shrinking very seriously, and it seems like fans loved his performance as senior therapist Dr. Paul Rhoades. The show received critical acclaim and was lauded by the audience, who also noticed that the famed Star Wars alum enjoyed his time on the series.
It may not be what viewers have seen from Ford throughout his years acting in Hollywood, but the star is a natural who can balance both work on drama and comedy. Still, he made sure he didn’t make Parkinson’s disease look and sound like a joke.
Harrison Ford on taking his character with Parkinson’s disease in Shrinking deadly seriously
Last year, Harrison Ford revealed in an exclusive interview with People that he did not take his role in Shrinking very lightly. He took Dr. Paul Rhodes’ condition “deadly f—king seriously” and admitted that he felt the weight of responsibility taking the viewers into his character’s journey dealing with the said case.
“There’s no intention to make it into a joke,” the actor said, later adding that some people can take it with grace and courage, which he appreciates. On the other hand, he also understood that there would be some who would not accept Parkinson’s disease as a subject for humor.
He loved his role in the show because Paul had the ability to share his entire journey from diagnosis all the way to how he deals with it day by day. Ford felt like it was something worth sharing with the viewers. He also admitted that he had never done any work like this before, and it made him realize why he wanted to be an actor in the first place.
Series co-creator and writer Brett Goldstein revealed in Late Night with Seth Meyers that he did not initially want to reveal that Ford’s role was based on his father. “My dad has Parkinson’s, and it wasn’t something we weren’t going to talk about publicly when we were talking about the show,” he confessed.
Writer Bill Lawrence accidentally mentioned it for everyone to hear, so Goldstein had to call his dad to let him know what happened. When his father found out he was going to be portrayed by Ford on screen, he was so happy that he immediately gave the go signal.
What fans can expect from Shrinking Season 3
The success of the two seasons warranted Apple TV+ to renew Shrinking for a third installment. Production is reported to have started in mid-February 2025.
After the events in Season 2, Paul’s Parkinson’s disease is expected to be the main focus of the upcoming season, especially after his heartfelt Thanksgiving speech about having a strong support system he can lean on, as well as the process of navigating the world despite the challenges.
Shrinking is currently available to watch on Apple TV+.
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
