Actor Jason Segel believes that his “Shrinking” costar, Harrison Ford, is “really good” at improv comedy.
Although best known for his roles in blockbuster franchises like “Indiana Jones” and “Star Wars,” the 80-year-old actor has turned to more and more TV shows, including “1932” and “Shrinking.”
Although the “How I Met Your Mother” star is known for his comedic chops on-screen, he revealed that Ford was able to “riff” with him while filming the Apple TV+ series.
Jason Segel Says That Harrison Ford Was ‘Really Good’ At Improv While Filming ‘Shrinking’
MEGAAfter learning that Jessica Williams admitted to improving a lot of her lines in “Shrinking,” Segel was asked whether he did any improv for his role in a June 2023 interview with The Hollywood Reporter.
“Yes. With Harrison Ford, there was a moment when I saw him register and was like, ‘Oh, we’re doing this now.’ And he was good at it. He’s really, really good at it,” Segel said. “There was a whole potato run, where I end up eating these potatoes. [He said] ‘Do whatever you want with them. Boil them, bake them.’ That was a riff that came out of his mouth. He is really smart, he’s really funny and he really understands acting.”
‘There’s A Reason He’s Harrison Ford’
MEGASegel continued to praise Ford’s acting, explaining that he went to the actor’s house once after he had signed on to the role. “All the way leading up, you’re like, ‘Oh, I’ve done this a long time. This’ll be fine. This’ll be great, just a couple of actors talking shop.’ Then you pull up to Harrison Ford’s house, and suddenly, you realize you’re terrified,” he recalled.
“You look in the rearview mirror, and you’re drenched in sweat. Just when you start to dry off, the gate starts to open, and it’s too late. You don’t want him to see you drying the sweat, so you play it 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’re like, ‘Oh, I get it. You’re the real deal.’ You feel it in the room, same with Sally Field, who I worked with.”
Jason Segel Talks The ‘Premise’ Of ‘Shrinking’
MEGAThe Apple TV+ series was written by Jason Segel, Brett Goldstein, and Bill Lawrence. The synopsis for the show reads: “A grieving therapist starts to break the rules by telling his clients exactly what he thinks. Jimmy has lost his wife and wants to try a new approach to his loss, but it is unclear how this will help others.”
Segel stars as therapist Jimmy Laird, while Jessica Williams plays Gaby, a fellow therapist. Harrison Ford plays Dr. Paul Rhoades, a senior therapist and one of Jimmy’s colleagues, who is struggling with Parkinson’s disease.
When asked how he felt about the premise of the show, Segel said that he has “worked really hard at comedy for 10, 12 years and so, all modesty aside, I just feel as though I know how to do it.” After saying that he has “some moves” and really knows how to do comedy, he called drama “something that I had been working really hard to feel that same way about.”
Jason Segel Describes ‘Trying To Get Good At Drama’
MEGA“But then comedy found me. And I didn’t get a chance to hone those skills. There’s some probably innate talent threshold that you have to have to get a chance at any of it, but then I think it’s skill-based,” he explained. “I think this is study and practice and learning not to be afraid and learning not to show off when the camera’s getting closer to you, all these skills.”
“So, I spent the past seven years trying to get good at drama, feel good about it and not feel afraid of it,” he explained. “So then, when this came to me, I felt like, now, what if we try to use all these things that we’ve been working really hard to get good at because the tone of this is all of it.”
The first season of “Shrinking” is available to stream on Apple TV+. No release date for season 2 has yet to be announced.
