‘1923’: Helen Mirren Said Working With Harrison Ford Felt ‘Unequal’ Before
Taylor Sheridan’s new Dutton family series, 1923, takes viewers 40 years into the future after the devastating events in 1883. 1883 showed how Margaret and James Dutton first settled in Montana, while 1923 shows Harrison Ford as Jacob Dutton and Helen Mirren as Cara Dutton as they continue the family legacy. Here’s what Mirren said about her experience working with Ford in the past and why she felt “unequal” to him.
[Spoiler alert: 1923 spoilers ahead regarding episode 3.]
Who is Harrison Ford in ‘1923’? Who is Helen Mirren?
Harrison Ford plays Jacob Dutton, the brother of James Dutton. James started the Yellowstone ranch in Montana because that’s where he and Margaret Dutton’s daughter, Elsa Dutton, died. After Elsa died in 1883, James died, and Margaret passed from the winter alone shortly after. James and Margaret left behind two sons — John Dutton Sr. and Spencer Dutton. Before Margaret’s death, she wrote to Jacob in the hopes that he would take care of her two sons.
In 1923, viewers see that Jacob did, in fact, help his nephews. John Dutton Sr. continued life on the ranch with his wife and son. However, Spencer chose to leave. He begins the series in Africa hunting wild game.
Helen Mirren plays Cara Dutton, the wife of Jacob. The beginning of 1923 shows Cara shooting someone and yelling into the air, and fans see this scene play out in episode 3. The Duttons get attacked by Banner and his crew, leaving John Sr. dead.
Helen Mirren said working with the Jacob Dutton actor on past projects felt ‘unequal’
1923 stars Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren have worked with each other in the past. But Mirren never felt like Ford’s equal. She spoke to Entertainment Tonight about how past movie roles alongside Ford always made her feel like a lesser actor in the industry.
“When I worked with Harrison 30-something years ago, he was already a huge movie star. He’d already done Han Solo. It was like this,” Mirren said while holding one hand above her head and one hand way below her waist. “Not that he ever treated me that way. Incidentally, he was always very gracious. But, you know, it was a very unequal sort of thing.”
Mirren then noted that working with Harrison in 1923 feels much more natural. “But, the minute I got back with Harrison, it was more of an equal partnership,” she said. “I’ll never be on the same level as Harrison ever. But, at least I climbed up a little bit. It was just this immediate connection.”
Harrison Ford says he admires his ‘1923’ co-star
While Helen Mirren has nothing but fantastic words to say about working with Harrison Ford in the past and present, Ford feels the same.
“I admire her work and her person [now], and I have all the same degree of admiration for her as I did then,” Ford told People. “She’s wonderful, she’s just a lovely person, and so it’s been both a professional pleasure and a personal pleasure working with her again.”
He echoed the same sentiments while speaking to Entertainment Tonight about 1923. “She’s a practical person,” he said. “She’s a down-to-earth person, she’s very, very smart, very astute. And she knows her craft.”
As for Jacob and Cara Dutton’s relationship, “Cara supplies a great deal of Jacob’s strength,” Ford added.
1923 airs Sundays on Paramount+.
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