Harrison Ford Told ‘Indiana Jones 5’ Stunt Guys to ‘Leave Me the F— Alone’ While on Horseback: ‘I’m an Old Man’ and ‘Want to Look Like It’

For Harrison Ford, the allure of reprising Indiana Jones for a fifth time in the upcoming Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny was all about time. Ford will celebrate his 81st birthday in July, just a few weeks after Dial of Destiny opens in theaters, which is not the typical age of your 2023 Hollywood action hero. That was a selling point for Ford, who told Esquire magazine that he ensured Indiana Jones looked and felt like an old man in Dial of Destiny.

I wanted an ambitious movie to be the last one, Ford said about reprising Indiana Jones. And I dont mean that we didnt make ambitious movies before they were ambitious in many different ways. But not necessarily as ambitious with the character as I wanted the last one to be.

One of the action set pieces in Dial of Destiny finds Indiana Jones riding a horse through the streets of New York City during the 1969 ticker-tape parade to celebrate the moon landing. As he was finishing up filming the scene, Ford felt the hands of three stunt workers spotting him from the ground as he was on horseback.

I thought, What the fuck? Like I was being attacked by gropers. I look down and theres three stunt guys there making sure I didnt fall off the stirrup, Ford recalled. They said, Oh, we were just afraid because we thought, you know, and bah bah bah bah. And I said, Leave me the fuck aloneLeave me alone, Im an old man getting off a horse and I want it to look like that!

For similar reasons, Ford made the decision to go shirtless during one of the early scenes Dial of Destiny. He said, Waking up in my underwear with the empty glass in my hand was my idea.

Fords age did show itself at times during the making of Dial of Destiny, such as when he pulled the subscapularis muscle off his right shoulder during a fight scene with co-star Mads Mikkelsen. The films production shut down for two weeks. When it resumed, Ford had to sit out an additional six weeks.

Yeah, well, Im also known for shutting movies down because I get hurt, which is not something you want to be known for, Ford said. But hey, shit happens.

At nearly 81 years old, Ford isnt slowing down. Hes been spending time in Atlanta filming Captain America: New World Order, his first movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Is it fun making a Marvel movie? Uh, he said. Yeah. I mean, there are tough days and easy days and fun days and all kinds of days. Its a tough schedule and, yeah, its fun. But its not a walk in the park. Its notfunfun. Its work.

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny opens in theaters June 30 from Disney.