Harrison Ford: ‘It Took Being an Idiot for Money’ for Me to Join the MCU

Harrison Ford joined the MCU for the most altruistic of reasons: money.

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The actor told Variety that he had to not be “caring” about his performance to play President Thaddeus Ross in “Captain America: Brave New World.” Ford is making his Marvel debut after taking on the role originally played by late actor William Hurt in films ranging from 2008’s “The Incredible Hulk” to 2021’s “Black Widow.” Hurt died in March 2022 at age 71.

Ford, when asked what it took to turn him into the Red Hulk via motion capture , said, “What did it take? It took not caring. It took being an idiot for money , which I’ve done before.”

Ford added, “I don’t mean to disparage it. I’m just saying you have to do certain things that normally your mother would not want you to do — or your acting coach, if you had one. But it’s fun, and I enjoyed it. I had a great time, and I’m delighted at the response that we got with the trailer.”

Ford was part of the motion capture technology to play Red Hulk alongside Anthony Mackie’s Captain America.

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“Captain America: Brave New World,” originally titled “Captain America: New World Order,” takes place after the events of Disney+ series “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.” The Falcon, played by Mackie in previous MCU films, officially took on the mantle (and the shield) of Captain America in the 2021 series finale.

Mackie told Inverse in 2023 that reuniting with Ford bolstered the film.

“He’s Harrison fucking Ford,” Mackie said. “There is this aura about him. But he dispels that really quickly because he’s such a cool guy. He’s everything a movie star should be. He would say, ‘Let’s shoot this piece of shit.’ And everybody was like, ‘Yeah, let’s shoot this shit.’”

“Captain America: New World Order” is directed by Julius Onah and produced by Kevin Feige and Nate Moore. Louis D’Esposito and Charles Newirth serve as executive producers. “The Falcon and the Winter Solider” creator Malcolm Spellman and series staff writer Dalan Musson co-wrote the script. The feature was originally slated for a May 3, 2023 release to mark the fourth film for Phase 5.