Jason Segel says Harrison Ford is “really good” at improvising
Actor Jason Segel thinks his ‘Shrinking’ co-star Harrison FordHe was “really good” at improvisational comedy.
Though the 80-year-old actor is best known for his roles in blockbuster franchises like Indiana Jones and Star Wars, he’s increasingly turning his attention to TV shows, including 1932 and Shrinking.
Although the ‘How I Met Your Mother’ star is known for his comedic skills on screen, he revealed that Ford was able to “fight” with him while filming the Apple TV+ series.
Jason Segel says Harrison Ford was “really good” at improvising while filming Shrinking
After learning that Jessica Williams admitted to improving many of her lines on “Shrinking,” Segel was asked in a June 2023 interview with if he improvised for the role The Hollywood Reporter.
“Yes. With Harrison Ford, there was a moment where I saw him register and I was like, ‘Oh, let’s do that.’ And he was good at it. He’s really, really good at it,” Segel said “There was a whole potato run where I ended up eating these potatoes. [He said] “Do with them what you will.” Boil them, bake them. That was a riff coming out of his mouth. He’s really smart, he’s really funny and he really understands acting.”
“There’s a reason he’s Harrison Ford”
Segel continued to praise Ford’s acting, stating that he once visited the actor’s home after he signed on for the role. “All the time you’re like, ‘Oh, I’ve been doing this for a long time.’ This is going to be good. It’s going to be great, just a few actors talking shop.” Then you pull up in front of Harrison Ford’s house and suddenly you realize you’re terrified,” he recalls.
“You look in the rearview mirror and you’re drenched in sweat. Just when you start drying off, the gate opens and it’s too late. You don’t want him to see you dry the sweat, so keep your cool. There’s a reason he’s Harrison Ford,” he added. “I did something with Robert Redford a few years ago and it was a similar experience where you were like, ‘Oh, I see.’ You’re the real deal.’ You can feel it in the room, same goes for Sally Field who I worked with.”
Jason Segel Talks Shrinking’s ‘Premise’
The Apple TV+ series was written by Jason Segel, Brett Goldstein and Bill Lawrence. The show’s synopsis reads, “A grieving therapist begins to break the rules by telling clients exactly what’s on their mind. Jimmy has lost his wife and wants to try a new way of dealing with his loss, but it’s unclear how this will help others.”
Segel plays therapist Jimmy Laird while Jessica Williams plays therapist Gaby. Harrison Ford plays Dr. Paul Rhoades, a lead therapist and one of Jimmy’s colleagues who is struggling with Parkinson’s disease.
When asked what he thought of the show’s premise, Segel said he’s “worked really hard on the comedy for ten, 12 years and so, humility aside, I just feel like I know how to do it.” After saying he has “some moves” and really knows how to do comedy, he called drama “something I’ve worked really hard to feel the same way about.”
Jason Segel describes ‘trying to get good at drama’
“But then comedy found me. And I didn’t have a chance to improve those skills. There’s probably an innate talent threshold that you have to have to even get a chance, but I think it depends on the skills,” he explained. “I think that’s learning and practicing and learning not to be scared and not showing off when the camera gets close to you, all those skills.”
“So I’ve spent the last seven years trying to get good at the theatre, to be comfortable with it and not afraid of it,” he explained. “Then when that came to mind, I thought what if we tried to use all these things that we’ve worked really hard to get good at, because that’s the tone here all of it.”
Shrinking Season 1 is available to stream on Apple TV+. No release date for season 2 has been announced yet.