Harrison Ford Says He'd Be a 'Better Parent' If He Were 'Less Successful'

Harrison Ford admitted he would be a "better parent" to his five children if he was not as successful as he is. The living legend shared his views on being a father and learning to accept his flaws. The Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny star has two children from his marriage to Mary Marquardt, Benjamin, 56, and Willard, 54; two with ex-wife Melissa Mathison, Malcolm, 35, and Georgia, 32; and adopted wife Calista Flockhart's son, Liam, 21.

In a new interview with Esquire, Ford was asked about being a parent and how any artist brings their parenting experiences to the work they do. "Well, how can you not? And I think you can bring it without talking about it. You bring it in another form. You bring it chemically. I mean the..." Ford trailed off, before pointedly telling the magazine, "I can tell you this: If I'd been less successful, I'd probably be a better parent."

Ford then took a pause, realizing he gave the magazine the perfect headline quote. "I think that's tantamount to 'I know who the f— I am,'" Ford, 80, said. He was referencing his February interview with The Hollywood Reporter, which was simply headlined, "Harrison Ford: 'I Know Who the F*** I Am.'"

"Which I still get s— about from my wife, like I don't take mental health seriously," Ford said. "I do take mental health seriously. I was trying to say, as I explained to her: It's that I accommodate all of the flaws that people go to psychiatrists to accommodate because I accept my flaws."

Ford not only accepts his flaws, but he owns them, he said. "Certainly the more constant gardener is the better parent, and I've been out of town, up my own a—, for most of my life," he explained.

The actor's comment to THR came about when he was asked about therapists since he plays one in Bill Lawrence's acclaimed Apple TV+ series Shrinking. "My opinion is not of the profession, it's of the practitioner. There are all kinds of therapy," he told the outlet. "I'm sure many of them are useful to many people. I'm not anti-therapy for anybody – except for myself. I know who the f- I am at this point."

Elsewhere in his Esquire interview, Ford shared why he decided to play Indiana Jones one more time. Dial of Destiny is the fifth and final movie in the series and the first since 2007. When the magazine told Ford that seeing an older Indy made them feel sad, Ford said that was a reason he wanted to work with director James Mangold, the first person not named Steven Spielberg to helm an Indy movie.

"Yeah. That's why I wanted to do the movie. I wanted to know what happened to him and how he handled it," Ford said. "[Director James] Mangold and I worked closely together, on that scene especially. Waking up in my underwear with the empty glass in my hand was my idea. I wanted to see Indiana Jones at a nadir point and rebuild him from the ground up."

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny hits theaters on June 30. Ford can also be seen in Taylor Sheridan's Yellowstone prequel series 1923, which is streaming on Paramount+. Shrinking is also streaming on Apple TV+. Both shows were renewed for second seasons.