Ron Howard explains how Harrison Ford helped Alden Ehrenreich create the new Han Solo.
With troubles aplenty during its production, including the firing of its original directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller, their successor, Ron Howard certainly had a tough task on his hands with the upcoming Solo: A Star Wars Story but the acclaimed director recently spoke about how he approached the man himself, Harrison Ford for advice;
“Harrison’s a very thoughtful actor and an artist, and I wanted to know what he learned about the character. He said that Han is always torn between that sense that he was, in a way, an orphan, and therefore both yearned for connection with people and struggled with it at the same time. I thought that was pretty interesting.”
Ford didn’t stop there apparently with Lucasfilm head Kathleen Kennedy revealing that he also took time out to have a lunch with the actor taking on the role Alden Ehrenreich, to offer advice on the character:
“What (Ford) did so beautifully for Alden was he talked a lot about what he remembered when he first read Star Wars, and what George (Lucas) had done with Han. Who the character was and the conversations he had for so many years with George about how that character developed. He gave Alden that kind of insight which was invaluable. There were several times in the course of making the movie where Alden would actually recount some of the things that Harrison had pointed out. I think that was really, really helpful to him.”
Ford’s involvement, whilst not in any official capacity, may be reassuring to Star Wars fans, with the actor distancing himself from the saga for many years before his return in 2015’s The Force Awakens and it appears that his love for Han Solo has returned as he appears to want to keep the character’s appeal alive with this new prequel movie.
Kennedy, who has had a working relationship with Ford since 1981’s Raiders of the Lost Ark, stated that the actor was full of praise for his much younger replacement, when she called him after the lunch;
“It was perfect, classic Harrison,” Kennedy says, breaking into mimicry of his signature low-key grumble. “‘Good Kid. Really Good Kid.”
Solo: A Star Wars Story opens in the U.K. and US May 25th.
Source: Entertainment Weekly