Harrison Ford has retirement on his mind.
The 83-year-old actor participated in an Apple TV press event in Los Angeles on Tuesday and explained that he would be satisfied if his role in “Shrinking” – where he plays a Parkinson’s disease therapist – was his swan song.
“Where do you go from here? The kind of work we are able to do is amazing considering the tools we have to work with, and the idea behind this series. And if it was complete here, that would be enough,” Ford said during a panel alongside his partners, via The Hollywood Reporter.
“This was a different kind of work for me, and I’ve been doing this for a long time,” continued the “Star Wars” icon. “This is very special and it really uplifts me and makes me feel like what we’re doing is worthwhile and important. I look for that in my life and I’m happy to have it here.”
Harrison’s comments sent the 300-seat audience into a frenzy as president Ashley Nicole Black responded, “There’s never been a better place to end a team.”
Ford stars in “Shrinking” alongside Jason Segel, Jessica Williams, Michael Urie, Lukita Maxwell, Christa Miller and Luke Tennie.
His performance as Dr. Paul Rhoades earned his first Emmy nomination last year.
In the new season, Ford shares the screen with Michael J. Fox, who has Parkinson’s in real life and portrays a patient with the neurodegenerative disease.
“It was a little difficult because I’m representing a character with Parkinson’s, and Michael has something real,” said Ford during the panel. “I’ve always felt a real responsibility to fix that part of my story.”
“But Michael is an extraordinary, generous and lovely person, who I didn’t know at all and I had the opportunity, working in this game,” continued Fox, who was not at the event. “It’s been extraordinary to work with him. He’s a very strong person. Such kindness and courage and an inability to compromise, and some of that, I hope, will help me color my portrayal of the character with Parkinson’s.”
Ford added, “That’s the serious part of it. But the fun part of it was there. It was extraordinary, I think for all of us, to be with Michael and see how he does what he does. He’s funny, too.”
Fox, who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 1991 at the age of 29, recently told Vanity Fair that Ford’s performance in “Shrinking” brought him “to tears.”
“What I wasn’t prepared for was how much understanding he had about the disease he brought,” the “Back to the Future” actor said, “I mean, I could see Parkinson’s in his eyes.” The things I felt and saw in the way he expressed himself.
Last year, Ford ruled out the possibility that he would retire soon.
“No. That’s one of the things I thought was fascinating about the acting profession, is that they need adults, too, to play adult parts,” the “Indiana Jones” star told Variety.
