‘Shrinking’ Creator Admits He Was ‘Prepared’ For Harrison Ford To Turn Down His Role (Exclusive)

Bill Lawrence, creator of the Jason Segel-starring series ‘Shrinking,’ told HollywoodLife how casting the legendary Harrison Ford in the comedy show came to be.

Movie legend Harrison Ford, 80, is popping up on the small screen again in the upcoming Apple TV+ comedy series, Shrinking. Harrison stars as Dr. Paul Rhodes, who takes issue with the borderline unethical therapy tactics used by his mentee Jimmy Laird (Jason Segel). At the show’s New York City red carpet premiere presented by The Paley Center for Media on January 24, creator Bill Lawrence, 54, told HollywoodLife EXCLUSIVELY how he bravely asked Harrison to star in the show, expecting that the Star Wars alum would respectfully decline the offer.

“I’m not afraid of people saying no to me. It doesn’t hurt my heart as much,” said Bill, who created Scrubs and co-created Ted Lasso. “I’ve been doing this long enough that I could reach him [Harrison],” he added. “He lives on my street. I asked him to do the show. I said, ‘Hey do you wanna read this script I wrote with a couple guys?’ He’s like, ‘Yeah, I’ll read it.’ “

Bill revealed that he was in Miami working on a different show, the upcoming drama series Bad Monkey, when he got a call from Harrison. “I was not prepared for anything other than no,” Bill admitted. But Harrison’s response absolutely shocked the famed TV producer and director.

“He actually said, ‘Hey, the script is really good. I’m not in the pilot all that much. Am I in the next one more?’ ” Bill revealed. The Emmy Award winner admitted that he “didn’t have anything” prepared for Harrison’s desire to have a bigger role in the comedy series, but obviously he deferred to the Indiana Jones actor in that moment.

“Im like, ‘Dude, it’s whatever you wanna be in the next one,’ ” Bill said. He also told us about Harrison’s casting, “I just got so lucky. Don’t be afraid of the no.”

Bill co-created Shrinking with Jason Segel and Ted Lasso Emmy winner Brett Goldstein. Zach Braff directed the eighth episode. The series premieres Friday, January 27 and follows a therapist named Jimmy who takes on a completely different approach at work while grieving the death of his wife. Jimmy has to deal with the consequences of his actions that have affected his patients while trying to form a better bond with his daughter, Alice. The cast also features Bill’s wife, Christa Miller, with Michael Urie, Luke Tennie, Lukita Maxwell, and Jessica Williams.