PLAYING WITH A FULL DECKARD

Harrison ford talks heading back to the future...

what was it like playing deckard again?

I think it’s kind of fun to play a character 30 years later, so I didn’t see a real problem with it at all. Recently before that I had revisited Han Solo after about a 30-year absence from the part. In a way, I’m used to trying on old clothes. Happily they still fit, so it wasn’t a struggle. It was fun.

what has deckard been doing for the past 30 years?

He has been in hiding and has gone through tragic events since the last film. He was charged with the protection of the secrets that he had. He felt morally obligated to protect those secrets. And so he made himself absent. He went to a place that one would not expect you to go. A dangerous place. And I think he’s been living a very lonely singular life.

How is the world of 2049 different?

Things have not gotten that much better in terms of the ecology of planet Earth. And life on Earth has continued to be challenging because of the environmental issues that the planet faces. And the social issues as well. So it remains a grim… but very interesting portrait of a possible future.

what was it like working with denis Villeneuve?

I had seen his films, I’d admired his films. I didn’t know what his take on Blade Runner was, and it was a while before I began to really understand the depth of his ambition for the film. He’s a very quiet and thoughtful and extremely intelligent guy who takes the time necessary to come up with the answers for himself. And I found him a great… intellectual partner to stumble through the hard questions on the film with.