Harrison Ford has been a leading man for decades. Over the course of his career, we’ve watched him step into roles like Indiana Jones, Han Solo, and even the President of the United States. More recently, he stepped into the role of Jacob Dutton in the Yellowstone spinoff 1923. It’s hard to imagine the veteran actor being uncomfortable in social situations.
However, he has admitted to being shy or nervous when doing talk show appearances in the past. That led some fans to believe that Ford suffers from social anxiety disorder. In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter promoting his current Apple TV show Shrinking, he addressed those claims.
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Harrison Ford Has Some Words for Armchair Psychiatrists
THR said that fans came to the conclusion that Harrison Ford has social anxiety disorder by “Looking at things [Ford has] said about being shy in social situations and some of [his] talk show appearances.” They asked if fans were onto something and Ford was quick to answer.
“Sh*t,” Ford replied. “That sounds like something a psychiatrist would say, not a casual observer. No, I don’t have social anxiety disorder,” he clarified. Instead, he said, “I have an abhorrence of boring situations.”
Ford went on to address the aforementioned shyness. “I was shy when I first went onstage – I wasn’t shy I was f**king terrified. My knees would shake so badly you could see it from the back of the theater,” he said. “But that’s not social anxiety. That’s being unfamiliar with the territory. I was able to talk myself through that and enjoy the experience of being onstage and telling a story with collaborators.”
Ford Got Offered the Role in Shrinking as a Joke
Brett Goldstein co-wrote the script for Harrison Ford’s Apple TV+ series Shrinking with Bill Lawrence. After completing the script, they sent it to Ford’s agent almost as a joke. They decided to offer the lead role to Ford, laugh about the fact that they did it, and go on with their lives. So, Goldstein and Lawrence sent the script to his agent, never expecting to hear back.
“We sent the script to his agent, and then a few days later, the agent calls Bill and says, ‘Oh this is really good. Harrison’s in London, and maybe he’d want to talk about it,’” Goldstein said. Luckily, he was in London at the time as well.
After a little bit of phone tag, and some last-minute scheduling, Ford invited Goldstein to his place to talk business. It was a short meeting.
Harrison Ford told the writer that Shrinking was the best script he had ever read. “Best dialogue I’ve ever read,” he added.
Shrinking is available to stream now on Apple TV+
