Harrison Ford and Kelly McGillis's Feud

Their body language is stiff, being uncomfortable around each other.

And he didn’t like Anne He He either. Hmmmmm, is there a connection to that?

Kelly was really quite beautiful in the mid 80s

R2 No, Harrison liked Anne.

Anne said in her book that after she started dating Ellen publicly and the studio didn't want her in the upcoming movie with Harrison Ford, He called her and said I don't care who you sleep with, you're in the movie with me.

Another uncomfortable picture

I've always liked this movie. I saw it when it came out, and was fascinated by everything about the look of it (the barn raising scene especially), and the interaction between KMcG, HF and Lucas Haas. For them not to get along, they certainly helped make a great movie. I guess that's professional acting.

What I find fascinating in this that when 2 actors don't like each other, you expect it would be apparent in the movie and there would be no chemistry between them in the scenes. But Harrison and Kelly's chemistry in this wonderful film was off the charts . I guess that's what you call great acting.

They probably fucked. At least he didn't get her fired.

[Quote] What I find fascinating in this that when 2 actors don't like each other, you expect it would be apparent in the movie and there would be no chemistry between them in the scenes. But Harrison and Kelly's chemistry in this wonderful film was off the charts . I guess that's what you call great acting.

Thin line between love and hate.

Interesting to see McGillis look so young in those pics. She seemed to age overnight in the mid/late '80s. Was it just weight loss or drugs as well?

R6 Totally agree.

"Witness" is a wonderful movie and in my opinion underrated. Harrison and Kelly really showed their great acting skills in it.

Patti LuPone tells a story about working with Ford in "Witness" that's amusing because she seemed to like his deference to her. But, like the person who shared the video says in their comments, it sounds like he might've simply been dismissive. Perhaps he brought the same energy to his interactions with McGillis. Whatever the case, each did some of their best work in that film.

McGillis consistently praises the men of "Top Gun" and famously dislikes "Cat Chaser" costar Peter Weller. Ford seems to fall in the middle of the scale.

Oops, here's the LuPone clip.

LuPone and Ford don't resemble in the slightest.

Witness is one iof my favorites. Alexander Godunov was very good, indded, and very handsome too. Anoother Russian man sadly dying too soon due to alccoholism.

R8 It won't surprise me, Harrison Ford fucked nearly every one of his leading ladies.

The tension between them was palbable.

Kelly McGillis's was beautiful in the 1980s.

I can't think of another movie quite like "Witness". Does anyone know of a foreign language movie that compares to it?

I think "Witness" is the first movie in which Harrison Ford showed his true great acting skills.

"Witness" is also noteworthy as the first movie acting appearance of smokin' hot Viggo Mortensen.

Alexander's death was a shock to me. Usually drunks look awful for about 5 years before they die, but he was always beautiful. Here is a beer (!) commercial he did 9 months before his untimely death at 45 of liver failure

Beautiful?!

I had no idea that "How Soon Is Now?" was used in a Labatt ice beer commercial. News to me!

Kelly McGillis is a lesbian and tall and not subject to the charms of Harrison Ford. HF's taste in women seems to be small and skinny (Callista Flockhart and Anne He he). You can count 18-year-old Carrie Fisher as a conquest as well. She was small and skinny at the time of Star Wars the original.

You can't say he was superficial.

R26 WTF? Is this his first wife?!

Yes, R23 and he didn't look like he was dying of alcoholism, a very distinct look. Jaqueline Bisset saw something in him.

R25 Harrison married mousy looking skinny blondes and liked to fuck (on the side) busty brunettes and red heads.

Kelly McGillis comes across as an intelligent and empathetic woman in this interview for "Witness".

Interesting that she didn't mention her main costar/HF in this interview at all.

R14 - in hindsight I recall sitting in the theater and thinking no way is that woman related to Harrison Ford.

How many Norma Desmonds has Harrison acted opposite? Patti, Betty (Frantic) and G (Air Force One).

I'm surprised Kelly was that stand offish to Harrison. He was the big star and she was some no-name D lister that was 5th or 6th choice. I would think the threat of her getting shit canned would have made her more compliant.

I need to turn in my gay card because I have no recollection of Patti Lupone in Witness. Who did she play? Certainly not one of the Amish!

Who were the other choices?

Sean Young was similar in her interviews for Blade Runner.

R35 Sean Young and Harrison Ford didn't get along either. But I don't think their onscreen chemisrty was as outstanding or palbable as Harrison and Kelly.

What about Emanuelle Seigner?

I don't know if it's true, but I've read somewhere (probably on DL?) that Kelly McGillis said that Harrison was cold toward her.

R32 That's probably why she didn't last long in Hollywood. She didn't play the game.

R37 It's a different story.

Harrison became good friend with Roman and Emanuelle.

Speaking of "Witness", Harrison Ford said that this movie was a real turning point in his career, that people got a different sense of him after it. He is right.

Emmanuelle seigner looks like a cross between Debbie Harry and Darryl Hannah.

I'm shocked to hear that Patti Lupone has something negative to say about a more famous costar.

Swan Young was bug nuts. NO ONE got along with her.

I've been trying to read up on the McGillis/Ford dynamic without much success. Of minor interest is a NYT interview circa "Witness." She doesn't speak about him directly but it's established that she was a fan of his work and found the prospect of being his costar intimidating.

The article makes clear how methodical she was in her approach to Rachel, which isn't exactly Ford's process.

I love how quiet this movie is. The last scenes had almost no dialog.

R46 Last scene of "Witness"

Incredible acting.

Why didn’t they get along? Were they both fucking Whitney Houston?

R36 R44

Harrison and I buried the hatchet, bitches.

Too bad they didn't hire me in Blade Runner 2049 and just gave me 30-second hologram cameo.

I agree with all that's been said about the wonderful chemistry between Ford and McGillis. With that said, casting for the part came down to McGillis and Lucie Arnaz, who after a certain point removed her name from consideration and chose to work on an ill-fated sitcom vehicle. I would have love to see the dynamic between Ford and Arnaz, who could not only act, but sing and dance as well, as evidenced by her Tony-nominated turn in 'Their Playing Our Song.' McGillis's depiction is sort of a cipher, whereas Lucie would have brought a whole nother dimension of complexity and sass, that were missing from Kelly's portrayal. As it stands, it's a great film, I just wonder what might have been...

Lucie Arnaz...in Witness?

Maybe Harrison Ford doesn’t like lesbians.

R52 He liked Anne Heche, as I mentioned in R4

My opinion on Harrison and Kelly's feud or rift is that Harrison Ford being Harrison Ford, he used to sleep with every leading lady in each one of his films. Kelly being a lesbian, was not interested in fucking him. Harrison's ego was insulted and he behaved coldly toward her. But this didn't influence their professional great acting.

That's my guess.

The interview below is pretty interesting and funny, the interviewer Dini Petty exposed Harrison Ford's open secret in Hollywood (fucking/having affairs with his leading ladies) starting at 8:52

Jesus Christ, who the hell is that obnoxious, idiotic cunt? She blabbers on with rude nonsense. Shocked he didn't walk out. No wonder he notoriously hates doing interviews.

R55 I know Harrison Ford hates doing interviews and he usually shut down the interviewers quickly when he got annoyed by them. But oddly enough, he seemed to be enjoying this interview and liking Dini Petty.

That’s because Dini presented cunt after the interview!

Is this a new Ryan Murphy project? They should get that Florence Pugh girl to play Kelly, I don’t know who they can have play a young Harrison though. Patti could probably just reprise whole role, she looked like an old lady back than anyways.

R57 Most probably. They were low key flirting during the interview.

I saw Harrison Ford rips interviewers for no reason, but he seemed very tolerant and pleased with Dini Petty despite her bold on the spot questions.

I always liked this movie. I was fascinated by the Amish lifestyle, their homes and barns. Liking antiques and the country, I was drawn to the beauty and simplicity of their lives. I thought that Kelly and Harrison had good chemistry in the movie...good acting, I suppose.

The score for Witness by the great Maurice Jarre is phenomenal. The barn raising, the love theme, and even the smaller moments have power.

[quote] They should get that Florence Pugh girl to play Kelly, I don’t know who they can have play a young Harrison Ford.

They could have Florence play Harrison and Olivia Wilde play Kelly.

Harrison Ford oozes charm out of his pores. He could probably have chemistry with a tarantula.

Dang Harrison was handsome in r61.

Think he was banging Melanie Griffith and Sigourney Weaver in Working Girl? Or was it Joan Cusak?

Well, he wasn't banging Kevin Spacey.

[quote]think "Witness" is the first movie in which Harrison Ford showed his true great acting skills

He showed animation and range. A lot of times he’s so low-key.

Going against the grain, I don't think Ford's performance in Witness was out of the ordinary for him. All that separates it from his work in Blade Runner or Raiders of the Lost Ark is the more realistic context. In my opinion, he was/is almost always good within strictures. If you want contained, taciturn masculinity with some glimmers of humor, Harrison Ford is your guy. And for the most part, he picked his spots very well. We can overlook Regarding Henry.

[quote]What I find fascinating in this that when 2 actors don't like each other, you expect it would be apparent in the movie and there would be no chemistry between them in the scenes. But Harrison and Kelly's chemistry in this wonderful film was off the charts

Gere and Winger in An Officer and a Gentleman are a more widely discussed case of this. Both of them had friction before and after with a lot of other co-stars, and much as could be expected, they got along like porcupines on Officer/Gentleman. Winger described in an interview years later how people would come up to her and tell her how moved they were by the scene in which the two are in bed together and Winger's eyes well up with tears, and Winger said it was easy to make her eyes well up with tears, because she was so miserable.

Alexander Godunov in The Money Pit (starring Tom Hanks and Shelley Long) gave the best impersonation of a symphonic conductor I've ever seen in a movie. It's a silly comedy about a couple whose new house is falling down, and he only plays a supporting role as Long's ex-husband, but he must have sat in on some rehearsals or known some people in the music world or something. But then, Godunov did come from the adjacent world of ballet, didn't he? Hilarious performance, anyway. "The union forces me to allow you go to lunch now, in SPITE of the way you've played."

Debra Winger was a miserable person, period.

[quote] Arnaz, who could not only act, but sing and dance as well, as evidenced by her Tony-nominated turn in 'Their Playing Our Song.'

Arnaz, who could not only act, but sing and dance as well, as evidenced by her famously Tony-snubbed turn in 'Their Playing Our Song.'

Sorry couldn't let that go unchecked.

I didn't know that Harrison Ford was the one who picked the song for the wonderful memorable dance scene in Witness.

Sad.

[quote]How many Norma Desmonds has Harrison acted opposite? Patti, Betty (Frantic) and G (Air Force One).

And Gloria Swanson starred with a different Harrison Ford in "Her Gilded Cage" (1922).

I have no memory of Patti LuPone in this movie.

R74 = Glenn Close

Was she or was she not fucking Barry Tubb in the late 80s?

She was married to at least one man before she came out.

Here you go!

The reason Kelly’s and Tom’s love scene in Top Gun was filmed in silhouette is because she was called back in (the love scene wasn’t originally planned) to film — her hair had been dyed darker because she was filming Witness.

I don't know about Barry, but I think she was fucking Jodie in the late 80s.

Kelly McGillis was one of those people, along with Meredith Baxter, that I would never have guessed would become hardcore, butch lesbians. At least not in the Witness, Top Gun (and early Family Ties) era.

Sean Young and Kevin Costner did not get along in No Way Out, but their chemistry together was smoking hot in the limo scene...

R80 - the hair on Jodie in that pic! Damn!