Shrinking
As a lifelong fan of the worker , I can safely say the Harrison FordShrinkingperformance is the best of his career so far . This is n’t a statement I make gently . Growing up in the 1990s , VHS copies ofStar WarsandIndiana Joneswere my introduction to action film . Harrison Ford was one of the first doer I could point to and name as a child , and this dedication continue into my adolescent years and beyond ( peculiarly when I was old enough to take account films likePatriot GamesandWitness ) .
I knew I would discover something to enjoy in the Apple TV+ showShrinkinggiven that Harrison Ford was part of the cast ( and the premise of the show itself was also interesting ) . However , what Ididn’texpect was that I ’d seea Harrison Ford performanceI rated even more highly than Jack Ryan , Indiana Jones , or even Han Solo . Shrinkingisn’t just a return to form for Harrison Ford , it ’s him surmount himself . devotee of the actor who have n’t meet Harrison Ford inShrinkingyet necessitate to check out the show for his carrying out in it if nothing else - and there are several reasons why .
shrinkage has become a stumble serial for Apple TV+ , with the star - studded cast direct by Jason Segel and Harrison Ford making the drollery even better .
Who Harrison Ford Plays In Shrinking
Ford Brings Dr. Paul Rhoades To Life
Harrison Ford play Dr. Paul Rhoades inShrinking , a healer who , over the course of the serial publication , pilot make to adapt to life story with Parkinson ’s disease- a progressive neurological condition that do ( among other symptom ) degeneracy of motor functions . Shrinkingmainly keep an eye on Jason Segel ’s Jimmy Laird , a therapist who work with Paul at the Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Center . However , Paul is just as important a character , especially as the various narratives inShrinkinggain momentum .
Paul inShrinkingis one of the most emotionally complex roles Harrison Ford has ever take on . Even without factorisation in his journey with Parkinson ’s , his relationship with his adult daughter Meg ( Lily Rabe ) , or his various frustration with Jimmy , Dr. Paul Rhoades is far from simple .
Harrison Ford brings an dumbfounding level of authenticity to the function too , and it ’s not surprising that he ’s been nominated for multiple honour for his carrying out , admit a Golden Globe in 2025 .
While Paul is a healer and has a recondite understanding of the human mind , he ’s far from without problem of his own . Paul is incredibly emotionally vulnerable despite his gruff outside and struggles to countenance others in even though he deep values the connections he has with them . decade of exercise as a healer have left him misanthropic and fag out , especially when it come to partake in his feeling ( and , significantly , ask others for assistance when he necessitate it ) .
These traits all , of class , mean that Parkinson ’s disease has significant aroused leg that are incredibly specific to Paul . The nature of the shape stand for he knows he ’ll have to become more and more dependent on others as the yr go on . Despite how uncomfortable doing so makes him , he live he ca n’t fend off learning how to trust on those around him .
It ’s a absorbing position for a character to be in , and defecate for one of the most interesting narrative arcs in the entirety ofShrinking . Harrison Ford land an astounding level of authenticity to the role too , and it ’s not surprising that he ’s been nominated for multiple laurels for his execution , include a Golden Globe in 2025 .
Image via Apple TV+
How The Harrison Ford Shrinking Character Fits His Fandom
Paul Reflects The Experiences Of Ford’s Many Lifelong Supporters
Paul inShrinkingmay be a different sort of function for Harrison Ford , but it ’s one that rather neatly fits his fandom . Harrison Ford spring up to prominence during the 1970s and 1980s , but he made his launching in the other 1960s . A huge part of his fandom were teens when they first discovered him in movies like 1977’sStar Wars : A New Hope,1981’sRaiders of the Lost Ark , or even earlier in 1973’sAmerican Graffiti , are around the same old age as Ford himself .
While simultaneous , this also means thatShrinkingis , in many ways , a perfect show for Harrison Ford ’s longest - standing rooter . Paul is an improbably complex and deep character and one that ’s experiencing many of the same existential battle that the 82 - class - old Ford likely has personal experience with . In fact , it ’s this ability to connect to Paul is probably partly why Ford ’s execution is so believable .
Much like Ford himself , Paul is finding that the number of years he ’s discover is becoming a reservoir of variety in his public .
Since many of Harrison Ford ’s fan will be around the same age as him , Paul inShrinkingwill likely resonate with them . Seeing an on - screen bearing they ’ve known for decade sail the same life changes they ’re journey through adds an additional dimension of relatability and absorption to the watch experience . For much the same intellect that stripling picture are more emotionally piquant when you ’re actually in gamey school , Harrison Ford ’s longest - resist buff will find Paul ’s journeying far easier to get misplace in than viewer born after the tallness of his career .
The passage to roles like Paul inShrinkingmarks how his calling has change over the X . It ’s something that , in many way , the narrative of Dr. Rhoades mirror . Much like Ford himself , Paul is find that the numeral of old age he ’s seen is becoming a source of change in his world .
Ford ’s fan who consider Han help Luke bluster up the Death Star in theaters in 1977 will now chance it easier to reckon being Paul than they can picture themselves face up off against Storm Troopers .
The same will be rightful of many of Ford ’s fans , which makesShrinkingin many ways the perfect career way for the role player - even if Paul is a surprising chemise from even the more late interpretation of Han Solo or Indiana Jones . It may not be the kind of office that made them first accrue in making love with Harrison Ford ’s movies , but the vast difference is a potency .
Ford ’s fan who saw Han help Luke bluster up the Death Star in theatre in 1977 will now find it well-off to imagine being Paul than they can picture themselves look off against Storm Troopers . This is why Paul is the perfect Harrison Ford function for his own fandom ( and has likely helpedShrinkingremain a achiever as a result ) .
Apple TV+ ’s hilarious and dear serial , Shrinking , has returned for its second season , and the psychiatrist clowning has already been renewed .
Image via Apple TV+
Why Harrison Ford’s In Shrinking Shows More Range Than His Other Work
Paul’s Journey Brings Out More Sides Of Ford Than Have Ever Been Seen
Harrison Ford has never played a character quite like Paul inShrinking- and this is partially why it ’s one of his best roles . However , the reason it ’s already among the favorite part of many Harrison Ford lover like myself isn’tjustbecause it ’s a new experience seeing him as someone grumpy , vulnerable , and asocial or else of as a cocky magnetic wedge ( though that ’s a factor ) . Mainly though , it ’s becausewatching Harrison Ford inShrinkingshows more of his range than anything else he ’s been in .
While Paul ’s personality may be almost the utter opposite word than hisStar WarsorIndiana Jonescharacters , but it ’s worth noting these are n’t his only two film . Ford has played dozens of characters across his decades - long calling . Shrinkingdoesn’t show Harrison Ford ’s range simply because Paul is n’t Han Solo or Indiana Jones . Ford has played scores of other characters who are also nothing like the galactic runner or adventuring archaeologist .
acquire to experience with Parkinson ’s disease is a unique and emotionally impactful journey for those who need to undertake it .
Shrinkingshows more of Harrison Ford ’s range than any of his other purpose because of the complex journeying Paul goes on within the show itself . Paul in theShrinkingseason 1 premiere is immensely dissimilar from Dr. Rhoades in the time of year 2 ending . This is entirely because of Ford ’s expert power to catch the subtle refinement and shifts in Paul ’s personality . While manyShrinkingplot discharge impact this , such as his kinship with his daughter , none show it more distinctly than Paul ’s progressive Parkinson ’s disease .
acquire to live with Parkinson ’s disease is a unequalled and emotionally impactful journey for those who need to take in charge it . It ’s a reformist degenerative status ( meaning symptom will only increase ) with no live cure , which means maintaining mental health can be just as difficult for those experiencing it . However , this is n’t the only reasonableness portraying a character adapting to the wallop of Parkinson ’s disease is challenge for any player . And , while Ford ’s near - utter capturing of Paul ’s changing emotional wellness is exemplary , it ’s the second reason that secures the part as the best display of the true depth of his endowment ever interpret .
Harrison Ford needed to ensure he did n’t downplay the physiologic change Paul experiences , but also did n’t exaggerate them for dramatic effect .
As has been show by many actors who muddied their careers withinsensitive depicting of medical conditions , fiddle someone with Parkinson ’s disease authentically , sensitively , and in a way that does n’t make the symptoms the magnetic core of the character , is of the farthermost importance . Had Harrison Ford ’s functioning of many of Paul ’s Parkinson ’s symptoms , such as involuntary tremors , been anything other the exceptional then it would have cause a important backlash .
At no full point could the manner Parkinson ’s disease presents in Dr. Rhoades be unrealistic . Harrison Ford needed to ensure he did n’t downplay the physiologic changes Paul experience , but also did n’t exaggerate them for dramatic issue . Having worked in residential care for many years and attend after many real - life mortal who , like Paul , are navigating life with Parkinson ’s disease , I can talk from experience when I say the many electropositive reviews ofShrinkingare right - Harrison Ford ’s characterization is nothing short of masterful .
What Harrison Ford Has Said About Playing Dr. Paul Rhoades
The Significance Of Paul Isn’t Lost On The Actor
The Harrison FordShrinkingperformance shows a side of the player he ’s never break , so there ’s a primal head many devotee desire answer - what does theStar WarsandIndiana Jonesthink of Dr. Paul Rhoades?Shrinking’sPaul is a complex lineament , and one that feels a populace away from many of the activity heroes Ford build his career on .
Speaking at a jury in LA in 2024(viaDeadline ) , Harrison Ford explained why , in his linear perspective , Paul inShrinkingwas so dissimilar from his other roles . However , his thoughts on Dr. Rhoades equate to the the like of Han Solo or Indiana Jones did n’t cut into into the character himself . Instead , Ford tattle about how the engagement he ’s had withShrinkingfans is so unlike from those he match through their love ofStar Wars , Indiana Jones , and other film is a regular reminder that Paul is n’t like his other characters :
“ What [ the cringe rooter Harrison For has met ] are doing is they ’re knit into this empathetic framework . And they ’re not seeing me as an actor . They ’re seeing me as someone that they ’ve had this nature of experience with . And it ’s a phenomenal modification in my mind , in my life . ”
While this does n’t reveal much about Harrison Ford ’s position on Paul ’s personality inShrinking , it does show that the veteran actor is fully cognizant that there ’s something different about his theatrical role in the Apple TV+ original . The response he ’s had from theShrinkingfandom are , to him , and meter reading of how much more meaningful - on a deeper , human degree - Paul is as a character than others he ’s present .
“ The success of the writing . It seems a unmanageable thing to do , but it was done with grace and magic spell , and I thought it was successful when I register the script that was given to me by Brett Goldstein . And it was something that I straightaway was attracted to because of its success in both the areas of play and comedy . It was an strange character for me to work , I think . ”
It seems that Harrison Ford pick up on the same thing that I and - according to Ford ’s own accounts - many otherShrinkingfans have since first seeing him on the show . Dr. Paul Rhoades is a completely fresh steering for theStar WarsandIndiana Jonesstar . It ’s a career move of the near kind , one that entirely redefine how audiences see an actor they already have no shortage of respect for . I did n’t think I could enjoy watch Harrison Ford any more than I already did , butShrinkingshocked me by reveal that an actor I ’ve follow all my animation still has much , much more to give .
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