10 Movie Roles Harrison Ford Turned Down

2. Jim Garrison (JFK)

Oliver Stone's JFK was made up of a fantastic ensemble that read like a who's who of 1991. There was Kevin Costner, Gary Oldman, Kevin Bacon, Tommy Lee Jones, Sissy Spacek and Martin Sheen to name just a few. There was, however, no Harrison Ford. Ford was offered a part in Stone's movie - Costner's lead role of Jim Garrison, no less - but opted to turn the gig down. Instead of JFK, Ford decided to spend his time making Regarding Henry, a movie that focussed on a lawyer who loses his memory, speech and mobility. Regarding Henry was so-so at best, and you have to believe that Ford's time would've been far better spent as Jim Garrison, the New Orleans DA who was tasked with looking into the cover-up surrounding John F. Kennedy. It's a role that would've allowed for Ford to stretch his dramatic side, with his ability to bring a certain intensity and determination to a character one that would've served Garrison brilliantly. In the end, Kevin Costner did a great job as Jim Garrison as the film went on to be nominated for a whopping 8 Academy Awards and would end up taking home 2 famed Oscar statues.
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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.