How the ‘Shrinking’ Team Landed Harrison Ford for the Modest Apple TV+ Ensemble Comedy
thewrap.comThis story about the casting of “Shrinking” first appeared in the Comedy Series issue of TheWrap’s awards magazine.Say you’re casting a thoughtful comedy about the world of psychotherapists, and you need a seasoned veteran to support the sharp young cast in a potentially scene-stealing mentor role.
And then you land one of the biggest movie stars in the world, an icon who has been in two of the largest movie franchises in the last 50 years.This was the reality for “Shrinking” casting directors Debby Romano and Brett Benner when the AppleTV+ comedy was being put together.
It still seems surreal to them that they landed Harrison Ford for the pivotal supporting role of Paul, a senior member of the practice where Jason Segel and Jessica Williams’ characters work as therapists.“We would love to take credit,” Romano said, noting that the character was once known as Phil, a nod to Jonah Hill’s famous therapist Phil Stutz, who ended up getting his own Netflix documentary. “But all we did was put his name on a list, which is a great thing in and of itself—to be able to put that name on a list and not be laughed out of the room.”Romano credits “Shrinking” co-creator Bill Lawrence with being the main reason why Ford signed on, with Lawrence and Ford living on the same street in Southern California.
And the final stroke of luck came when the actor was working on “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” at Pinewood Studios outside London, where he was able to meet up with “Shrinking” co-creator and “Ted Lasso” star Brett Goldstein.
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