I’d imagine pitching a project to Harrison Ford would be incredibly intimidating, especially if you are proposing something that's unlike anything the actor has done before, like Shrinking. Well, Brett Goldstein had to do just that; he had to try and convince the Indiana Jones actor to do the now-great Apple TV+ show. However, according to Ford, the Ted Lasso actor “blew” that pitch. It’s not for a bad reason, though; it’s actually for a pretty incredible one.
If you are a fan of Shrinking, you might be aware of the fact that co-creators Jason Segel, Brett Goldstein and Bill Lawrence offered the role of Paul to Harrison Ford, but they expected him to say no. During this time, the Roy Kent actor was sent to pitch the series to the Star Wars star. However, according to Ford, the pitch wasn’t necessary, as he said during a panel posted by reelrejects on TikTok:
He was supposed to come in, I was working in London, he was supposed to come to my apartment for the specific job of talking me into it, which he completely blew at the door. He said, 'How do you like it? I said, 'I wanna do it.' [He said] 'Oh, now what are we going to do?'
So, Goldstein “blew” it, because Harrison Ford already wanted to do the series. That’s pretty incredible, right?
It only got better when the Emmy winner added some context to the story. He said he had a whole game plan prepared, but that went out the window basically as soon as his now co-star answered the door:
I had a four-hour campaign plan. And you said it at the door, and then I didn't know what to say next.
I wouldn’t know what to say next, either. So I totally understand where Brett Goldstein was coming from. Even though he didn’t need to really pitch the show to Ford, they did have a nice meal and a good chat, as the Blade Runner actor continued the conversation by saying:
Well, we had a nice dinner, and it has been an exceptional honor to be a part of this company.
He went on to explain that he’s “so honored” to be part of the Shrinking cast and surrounded by creatives like Goldstein, Jason Segel and more. So, it’s clear that that quick yes paid off big time for everyone involved. In fact, Ford loves working on this show a whole lot, and went as far as to say during a Paley Center panel last year that he’s “never felt as comfortable” or as confident in both himself and his co-stars as he has working on this series.
However, there’s a bit more to this story that the 1923 actor didn’t mention. According to Bill Lawrence, when they sent him the pilot, Ford asked if he was going to get more screentime than he initially had. The Scrubs creator said if he did it, of course, he would.
Along with that, since Jason Segel leads the show, the Paul actor rewatched Forgetting Sarah Marshall. Then when asked what he thought of the movie, he told a producer of Shrinking that Segel had a “nice penis.”
So, all around, this tale of casting Harrison Ford is hilarious and wonderful. Even though Brett Goldstein didn’t know what to say during his pitch, his colleague's mind was already made up.
Now, we’re on our way toward Shrinking Season 3, which only makes this story better. So, while we wait for that, you can go back and see what came after that fateful meeting between Harrison Ford and Brett Goldstein by streaming the first two seasons with an Apple TV+ subscription.
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