20 Things You Didn't Know About Eyes Wide Shut

16. Harrison Ford Is In This Movie

eyes wide shut
Buena Vista

Before you rush to check, no, Harrison Ford does not feature in Eyes Wide Shut. Kubrick did, however, originally express an interest in Harrison Ford for the lead role of Bill Harford.

Rejecting the period setting and Austrian language of the source material, Traumnovelle, also meant ditching the character's original name, Fridolin. Instead, he Frankensteined Ford's name, conjoining 'Har' in Harrison and 'Ford,' in, erm, Ford, to make 'Harford.'

Where the 'Bill' came from will perhaps be the least enigmatic aspect of the production as Kubrick simply wanted the most 'vanilla' American name he could think of for the central protagonist.

Contributor
Contributor

A lifelong aficionado of horror films and Gothic novels with literary delusions of grandeur...