Harrison Ford’s time playing Indiana Jones may be over, but he’ll never be fully able to leave the character behind him. To be fair, this and Han Solo are his most famous roles, so naturally he can only go so long without people mentioning them to him. But as Ford has joked, John Williams’ Indiana Jones theme music also follows him wherever he goes, including his “last colonoscopy.”
The actor shared this amusing experience as part of a profile written by Variety about Williams, who’s been scoring music in movies since the late 1950s, won five Academy Awards over the course of his career and been nominated 49 other times, most recently for his work on 2023’s Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (which can be streamed with a Disney+ subscription). Ford recalled:
As I often remind John, his music follows me everywhere I go — literally. When I had my last colonoscopy, they were playing it on the operating room speakers.
While I can’t say it with 100% certainty, this feels intentional. If Harrison Ford is in the operating table, you’re telling me John Williams’ Indiana Jones theme was just coincidentally playing. Sure, there might be a slim chance of that, but I’m more inclined to think one of the surgeons or medical staff in the room at that time deliberately turned it on, much to Ford’s chagrin. Sure it’s one of the most iconic pieces of cinematic orchestral music, but I doubt it’s something he wants to hear as he’s going through this kind of medical procedure.
Ignoring that incident though, Harrison Ford thinks quite fondly of John Williams, calling him a “gracious, gracious guy” later on in the Variety piece. In fact, along with flying planes and going fly-fishing, the man who played Henry Jones Jr. in five movies and a guest appearance on The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles also likes to attend Williams’ scoring sessions for fun, saying:
It’s a delight to see him work with the orchestra — just the pleasure of being able to sit in a room and process the remarkable attention that each beat of the music gets. And their respect for him and his respect for them is just so much fun to watch.
Even though Harrison Ford is done with the Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises, my fingers are crossed that he’ll be able to act in at least one more movie that John Williams scores. After all, last December, the composer sounded like he was still interested in making music rather than retire, as had previously been indicated. Here’s a thought: if Williams is looking to contribute to another major franchise, now that Ford is playing Thunderbolt Ross in the MCU, maybe it can be arranged to have Williams score one of the actor’s upcoming Marvel movies, assuming he’s lined up for more appearances after Captain America: Brave New World and Thunderbolts, which I suspect already have composers lined up.
We’ll find out if John Williams takes home the Best Original Score Oscar this year when the 96th Academy Awards air next Sunday, March 10 on ABC; Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny’s competition includes American Fiction, Killers of the Flower Moon, Oppenheimer and Poor Things. As for Harrison Ford, he’ll debut as Thunderbolt Ross when Captain America 4 opens on February 14, 2025.
