The movie franchise — which is now set to release its fifth installment in 2023 — starred Harrison Ford as the title character, archaeologist Henry Jones, Jr.
Famously, Steven Spielberg had wanted Tom Selleck to play the action hero. And, as it turns out, Hollywood heavyweight, Kevin Costner (Field of Dreams, The Postman, Dances With Wolves, The Bodyguard) was the first choice for Ford’s breakout role in Air Force One (1997).
“This was a script that Kevin Costner originally had, and he gave it to me,” he [Ford] said. “Kevin knew this was a big commercial movie, and his schedule didn’t allow him to do it.” He went on to reveal that Costner specifically told the producers of the late ’90s action movie that he would step away from the role if it was certain that the “Star Wars” alum could have the part.
Ford went on to share, “Now Kevin and I are not intimates. I’ve met him on a number of occasions, and I like him very much. I like him a lot more now because he really threw a winner my way.”
The fate of the nation rests on the courage of one man. Harrison Ford and Gary Oldman star in two-time Oscar® nominee Wolfgang Petersen’s gripping thriller about an uncompromising U.S. President who has just told the world he will not negotiate with terrorists. When Russian neo-nationalists hijack Air Force One, the world’s most secure and extraordinary aircraft, the President is faced with a nearly impossible decision to give in to terrorist demands or sacrifice not only the country’s dignity, but the lives of his wife and daughter.
Did you know that Kevin Costner was originally supposed to be in Air Force One?
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Credit: ABC
