Ridley Scott Recalls Pitching ‘Blade Runner’ Backers On Harrison Ford: “He Was Not A Star”

Although Harrison Ford is synonymous with multiple franchises and countless memorable performances, he wasn’t always such a household name.

Ridley Scott recently revealed that the actor, who just received his fifth Golden Globe nomination, wasn’t such an easy sell for the lead role of Rick Deckard in his 1982 sci-fi classic Blade Runner.

“Harrison Ford was not a star yet,” explained Scott to GQ. “He had just finished flying the Millennium Falcon in Star Wars. I remember my financiers saying, ‘Who the f— is Harrison Ford?’ I said, ‘You’re going to find out.’ So Harry became my leading man.”

In addition to his roles in Blade Runner and Star Wars, Ford’s leading man status has long been cemented by his performances in the Indiana Jones films, The Fugitive (1993) and his upcoming MCU debut as Red Hulk in Captain America: Brave New World, premiering Feb. 14 in theaters.

Ford revived his role as Deckard in director Denis Villeneuve‘s 2017 sequel to Scott’s masterpiece, Blade Runner 2049. Production began last year on the Prime Video followup series Blade Runner 2099, but no word yet on if Ford will return once again for a cameo.

Most recently, Ford has made the leap to television with the Yellowstone spin-off 1923 and the Apple TV+ series Shrinking.

At 82, the actor recently explained what keeps him so active in his Hollywood career. “Oh man, I get out of it essential human contact. I get to imagine with people that have great skill and experience…. It’s fun to work with these people,” he told Vanity Fair.