Helen Mirren and Harrison Ford Starred in This Iconic ’80s Film 36 Years Before 1923

The pairing of Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren in “1923” seems perfectly natural to viewers. These film legends portray Jacob and Cara Dutton in the Western series, which follows “1883” and is a prequel to “Yellowstone.” This casting feels intuitive largely because it’s not the first time they’ve portrayed a married couple on screen!

To find their first on-screen marriage, one has to look back to 1986 when the actors starred as husband and wife in the film “The Mosquito Coast,” directed by Peter Weir. This film, an adaptation of Paul Theroux’s novel, explores the story of a family disillusioned with American ideology, who decide to start over in the Honduran jungle.

Mutual Admiration Between Two Actors

“The Mosquito Coast” was Harrison Ford’s second project with Peter Weir following “Witness,” which earned Ford his sole Oscar nomination. Interestingly, the couple’s son in the film is played by River Phoenix, who would go on to portray a young Indiana Jones in the prologue of “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” (1989).

In an interview with Variety, Helen Mirren recalled her first collaboration with Harrison Ford: “The first time we worked together, he was already a huge movie star and I was relatively unknown. I was quite intimidated. I learned a lot from him because I didn’t have much experience… I watched him closely, and he taught me a great deal about film acting, lessons I still use today.”

Ford, also interviewed, was full of praise for his esteemed colleague: “I already admired her work and who she was back then, and my admiration for her has only grown. She is a wonderful person, so it was both a professional and personal pleasure to work with her again.”

Thus, the series “1923” has reunited this iconic cinematic couple thirty-six years after their first appearance. The final episode of the second season will air this Sunday in the United States, and will be available the following Monday in France on Paramount+.

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