Helen Mirren Says She Wasn’t Famous When She First Worked With Harrison Ford: ‘Nobody Had Heard Of Me’

Helen Mirren says it was a very different landscape when she first worked with Harrison Ford in 1986.

The two actors star in the newest entry in the “Yellowstone” franchise, “1923” together, but previously filmed “The Mosquito Coast” together.

Speaking with The Times, the actress reflected on how different their working relationship was years earlier.

“The relationship was obviously very, very different then because Harrison was already an enormous movie star and I was a theatre actress out of London and nobody had heard of me,” she recalled, via People.

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Years later, with an Oscar under her belt and an extensive filmography, it’s safe to say people have heard of Mirren now.

“Now our relationship is very different because I’ve sort of caught up with him,” she reflected. “Well, I’ll never catch up with him completely but I’m a little bit closer than I was.”

Ford was asked whether he thought his co-star was still “intimidated” by him, but he answered easily, “No, I think she’s over that.”

In fact, he only had praise for her, complimenting her passion.

“She’s not precious at all — a member of the acting troupe,” he added. “She throws herself into everything without any hesitation.”

The actress wasn’t the only one who had changed since their initial team-up, however, as Mirren believed the years had changed the “Indiana Jones” actor as well.

“He had that carapace which is essential for people who have reached that level of popular stardom,” she said. “It’s so full-on, you have to develop some sort of defensive armor. He was always lovely to kids; grown-ups, not so much.”

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She also praised her co-star for not being “precious” as well, complimenting his sense of professionalism.

“It’s rather British actually — don’t make a fuss, just get on with it,” she told the outlet. “He never disappears into his trailer, the set is never waiting for him. I think he loves the whole business of film-making.”

New episodes of “1923” drop on Sundays on Paramount+.