Harrison Ford says he and Brad Pitt clashed over the plot of their 1997 thriller movie and “didn’t have a script that Brad and I agreed on.”
In an interview for Esquire, the 81-year-old opened up about working with his co-star on their 90s blockbuster, which he had previously said was “tough.” The Devil’s Own revolves around Harrison Ford’s character, who is an Irish-American policeman who takes in an IRA terrorist pretending to work as an immigrant construction worker. Brad Pitt, who played the character, also didn’t have the kindest of words about the film, saying it was “the most irresponsible bit of filmmaking if you can even call it that, that I’ve ever seen.”
Harrison Ford talks disagreements with Brad Pitt on movie plot
The Hollywood icon explained he “saved my comments about the character and the construction of the thing” because he “admired” Brad, 60. He said the pair couldn’t agree on the movie’s direction and when they were shooting, “each of us had different ideas about it [the plot],” which caused issues.
He wished his character had the same level of “complicated” as Brad’s character “so that it wasn’t just a good-and-evil battle. And that’s when I came up with the bad-shooting thing.”
The subplot sees Harrison’s character cover up his partner’s crime after they shot an unnamed thief in the back.
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The celebrity continued by stating he “likes the movie very much.”
“Each of us had different ideas about it. I understand why he wanted to stay with his point of view,” he said. “I wanted to stay with my point of view – or I was imposing my point of view, and it’s fair to say that that’s what Brad felt. It was complicated. I like the movie very much. Very much.”
The film apparently had many problems as Harrison Ford explained he and Brad Pitt couldn’t settle on a director for the film, which was a box office hit, earning $140m (£112m) worldwide.
They eventually went with Alan J. Pakula, who directed the heartbreaking 1982 Oscar-winning blockbuster Sophia’s Choice, which starred Meryl Streep.
Harrison added: “We couldn’t agree on a director until we came to Alan Pakula, who I had worked with before but Brad had not.”
Years later, Brad wasn’t as critical either
In a 2011 interview with Entertainment Weekly, the star said he “really liked” the film and called it “good schooling,” but said it “could have been better.”
“The [shoot took] seven months. It should have been three months. The experience taught me how ludicrous it could be throwing money at a problem,” Brad explained. He said a producer told him because they “threw out” the script, he was “free to walk.”
“Larry Gordon, the producer, is a good friend of mine. He said it to me point-blank, ”I understand if you want to go away. We’re throwing the script out. Make your choice, big man. You can come with us — we’re going to figure it out as we go along — or you’re free to walk.
“I decided to stay.”
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