Harrison Ford is one of the best actors of his generation, so it’s hard to imagine anyone being unhappy with his casting in any movie. However, according to the Star Wars and Indiana Jones legend himself, Tom Clancy had some serious issues with him as Jack Ryan in Patriot Games.
Harrison Ford starred as Ryan in the sequel to the 1990 classic The Hunt for the Red October. Replacing Alec Baldwin as Ryan, Ford’s performance in the role was widely praised by critics at the time, as well as audiences who made the thriller movie a box office hit. Patriot Games might not be the best movie of Ford’s career, but it’s solid and exciting nonetheless.
However, author Tom Clancy, who wrote the Jack Ryan books on which the movies were based, wasn’t Ford’s biggest fan. “Tom Clancy never liked me in the part,” said Ford, speaking with People.
“He thought I was too old, and I think he had other objections, but I don’t remember what they were,” finished Ford, cryptically.
Clancy’s disdain for Patriot Games has been well documented, but to hear Ford so candidly recount the fact that Clancy didn’t like him personally is striking. In the novel Ryan is 31 during Patriot Games, however, Ford himself was nearly 50 in 1992 when the movie released.
Therefore, the author saw the casting of Ford as a deviation from the portrayal of Ryan in the novel, while also criticizing the screenplay and overall production. Yikes. Still, the movies are perfectly good within their own right, even if they don’t carry the author’s stamp of approval.
Now, take a look at our picks for the best spy movies, before seeing all the new movies coming in 2024.