Harrison Ford took on the role of Thaddeus Ross in Captain America: Brave New World
and the cast and crew were amazed at the incredible dedication and physicality he brought to the role, despite being over 80 years old. As the Multiverse Saga comes to an end, the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU)
continues to highlight new characters, like Red Hulk, in the lineup of superpowered characters. However, when William Hurt passed away in 2022, there was a struggle to find a new actor to take his place as General Ross at the pivotal moment when he would finally enter the Oval Office and transform into the Red Hulk.
MCU fans have been eagerly awaiting this moment for years, and with the MCU finally prepared to deliver this storyline, a great actor was needed to deliver a performance that balanced political diplomacy and outright anger. Fortunately, the legendary Harrison Ford stepped upand although he is considerably older than when he played several other iconic action heroes, the cast and crew working on Brave new world we were surprised by how much Ford dedicated himself to this role. A recent feature in Empire the magazine highlights this with direct quotes from those involved.
Harrison Ford gave his all for Captain America: Brave New World
Sure, Ford is an exceptional actor who has worked long and hard to create a reputation in Hollywood, but age affects everyone. So, with Ford over 80 years old, the team that worked on Brave New World was ready and willing to make adaptations. The actual physicality of Red Hulk's character would largely be resolved with CGI, but in terms of achieving the transformation as a painful, physical, and intense experience. Director Julius Onah praised her performance as “mind-blowing. All of us on set were like, 'Holy shit, did he nail it? It's really great to go back to a Hulk who's just breaking shit and a raging monster.”
In addition to the director's impression of Ford's performance, the actors closest to him on set also praised aspects of performance. Xosha Roquemore plays head of security Leila Taylor, and she acknowledged how “Doing things like that as an actor is really vulnerable, everyone is watching you go crazy. Watching it over and over again was inspiring.” The star of Captain America 4Anthony Mackie also highlighted how Ford “did all this, he threw himself on the ground, he did all these crazy things that you wouldn't expect him to do as an 80-something man.”
Red Hulk will make or break Captain America: Brave New World
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Meanwhile, Ford himself stated that “The ability to simply go RRRRRRRR-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRR-HHHHHH [sic] It's not the greatest ambition I have as an actor.” Considering his incredible and deeply ingrained experiences throughout his career, Ford has been thrown into many unusual positions. So when it came time to imagine playing a giant rage-filled monster, his approach was very direct. However, this does not mean that he did not dedicate time and effort to preparing for the role, as he considered the objectives and intentions of his role.
“Just another day at the office. I tried to understand the filmmakers' ambition and be useful to them. I just didn't sit at home at night and say, 'Oh, what do I want to do when I turn into the Hulk?' It didn't seem like a terribly difficult acting proposition to me.” -Harrison Ford
It's clear that Harrison Ford didn't hold back when it came to his performance, and his age didn't seem to be a major factor in his efforts. Instead, the legendary actor laid it all out on the table and the results impressed the people who were there to witness it. Now it remains to be seen whether the rest of the film can live up to Ford's spectacular performance and turn it into something wonderful for Captain America: Brave New World.
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February 14, 2025
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July 25, 2025
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July 24, 2026
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