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Harrison Ford Reflects on Sensitive Portrayal of His Shrinking Character's Parkinson's Diagnosis: 'No Intention To Make It Into a Joke'
Harrison Ford discusses his Shrinking role, portraying Parkinson’s disease with depth and respect. Inspired by co-creator Brett Goldstein’s father, the comedy series blends humor and heart.
Harrison Ford tackled the portrayal of being diagnosed with Parkinson's in Shrinking with extreme caution and sensitivity. Ford plays Dr. Paul Rhoades, who is a senior therapist and colleague of Jason Segel's Jimmy at the Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Center in the Apple TV+ comedy series.
At PaleyLive, Ford spoke about the gravity of his role in portraying Dr. Rhodes' Parkinson's journey in the series. The 82-year-old actor said he is taking it very seriously and approaching it with a deep sense of responsibility, considering it is something that demands his full attention.
He said, "There's no intention to make it into a joke. But there are people that absorb these kinds of experiences with grace and courage and a little bit of wisdom. And that is not to say that some people do not."
The series first introduced Paul's Parkinson's diagnosis in Season 1. Ford emphasized that his portrayal avoids humor or trivialization. Instead, he is trying to reflect on how some people confront such challenges with resilience, grace, and wisdom.
Ford elaborated, "It's just to say that this is a person particularly equipped to communicate what it is that it's like, and that is something that I feel that is worth sharing with our audience."
Co-creator and writer Brett Goldstein of the show said Dr. Paul Rhodes was actually inspired by his father, who has Parkinson's. In fact, Goldstein noted that they did not really plan to talk about this beforehand, but one of the co-writers "let it slip." He consulted his dad, who was fine with it and was excited for the connection to Ford's portrayal.
Last month, Goldstein revealed on Late Night with Seth Meyers, "My dad said, ‘Are you telling everyone that I'm Harrison Ford?’ And I said, ‘Yeah,’ and he went, ‘F---ing cool. Go for it. Please, go for it.’"
Shrinking Season 2 is now streaming on Apple TV+. The show stars Jason Segel, Harrison Ford, Jessica Williams, Christa Miller, Michael Urie, Luke Tennie, Lukita Maxwell, and Ted McGinley.
ALSO READ: 'I Thought I Might Have...': Harrison Ford Reveals Why He Decided To Join MCU
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