Harrison Ford has played heroes for half a century. But sitting across from Michael J. Fox on the set of Shrinking, the 82-year-old actor found himself genuinely humbled.
Ford stopped by Jimmy Kimmel Live this week to promote Season 3 of the Apple TV+ comedy, and when Kimmel brought up Fox, Ford’s legendary interview deflection disappeared. Fox guest stars this season as a man navigating life with Parkinson’s disease, the same condition Ford’s character, therapist Paul Rhoades, has lived with since the show began. Fox, diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 1991, had stepped away from acting in 2020. His appearance in Shrinking marks his first live-action role in six years.
Ford said the two men had barely crossed paths before the show brought them together. ‘We met in the past and I know Michael to say hello, but I hadn’t really spent very much time with him,’ he told Kimmel. That changed on set. Fox’s willingness to join the cast, Ford said, ‘means everything to me. It’s really fantastic that he’s willing to do that.’
He went further. ‘His vitality, his intelligence, his quality, it’s just so impressive,’ Ford said. ‘He’s such an impressive person and he inspires all of us.’ Then, with the dry timing audiences have come to expect from him, he added: ‘He has such a great positive attitude all the time. It makes me ashamed of myself.’
Ford was equally direct about what Fox brings beyond the performance. ‘He’s a tremendous advocate for finding a cure for Parkinson’s,’ he said, ‘and he has raised more money for Parkinson’s research than anybody else.’ Through the Michael J. Fox Foundation, which Fox established in 2000, that figure now exceeds $2 billion, making it the largest private funder of Parkinson’s research in the world.
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Fox had been moved by Ford’s portrayal of Parkinson’s on the show, calling it ‘human’ and ‘accessible,’ and reached out directly to series co-creator Bill Lawrence, his former Spin City collaborator, which set the guest star slot in motion. Season 3 debuted to a 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes ahead of its January 28 premiere and now sits at 92%.
The praise for his castmates didn’t end with Fox. Ford was equally warm about Jason Segel, his co-star and the show’s co-creator. ‘Very talented, hilarious, very smart, wonderful guy,’ Ford said. ‘I’m so lucky to have a chance to work with him.’ That’s quite a compliment coming from an actor not known for interview enthusiasm.
Kimmel, who told Ford that he and his wife watch the show every week, put it plainly: ‘I can’t believe Harrison Ford is on a TV show and we’re so happy that you’re on it because it really is great.’
Ford, who received the SAG-AFTRA Lifetime Achievement Award on March 1, was characteristically understated about his career when pressed. He said he has no favorite among his films, sincerely, he insisted, because the finished product is never quite what he experienced making it. ‘When I did it, it was better than that,’ he told Kimmel with a straight face. The making of a movie, he said, is ‘where I get satisfied.’
But back on Fox, he seemed completely unguarded. ‘What a treat,’ he said, ‘to get to know him and to work with him. He’s just the greatest guy.’
New episodes of Shrinking stream Wednesdays on Apple TV+.
This story was originally published by Parade on Mar 11, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.