Shrinking Didn’t Think They Had A Chance Of Actually Landing Harrison Ford

Bill Lawrence, Brett Goldstein, and Jason Segel spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about their dark comedy and naturally, they were asked how exactly they got Harrison Ford to star. Lawrence evidently had a personal realization that he wasn’t deeply affected by people turning down his offers anymore, which spurred him on to offer the Dr. Rhodes part to Ford:

“I got to a point that I wish I was at as a kid trying to date and taking chances on things, where I can be like, ‘Hey, you wanna do this? No? Cool, see ya around.’ Here, the only real thing for me was how ill-prepared I was to get anything but a ‘no’ from Harrison Ford.”

As Goldstein explained, the co-creators all had a Harrison Ford-type in mind but didn’t think the actor would actually be interested. Ultimately, it seems Goldstein sealed the deal by visiting Ford during filming for “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” in London:

“I suddenly get a missed call, ‘Hey, it’s Harrison Ford.’ I was like, ‘What the f*** is happening?’ I went to his apartment to discuss it. And the discussion was very, very quick because he wanted to do it. I thought I’d be there to convince him.’

It seems the veteran actor was up for doing something different and had made up his mind before meeting with Goldstein. Whatever the case, it seems the guys behind “Shrinking” were just as incredulous as everyone else about Ford appearing in their streaming show, let alone in a comedy alongside the star of “Forgetting Sarah Marshall.” But as Segel revealed during a “TODAY show” appearance, his co-star actually watched “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” to re-familiarize himself with Segel’s work. Luckily, he still agreed to do it.