Harrison Ford Praises Troy Baker’s “Brilliant” Indiana Jones Performance in THE GREAT CIRCLE

Harrison Ford doesn’t hand out compliments lightly, especially when it comes to Indiana Jones. For over four decades, Ford was Indy, and as far as he and fans were concerned, no one else has stepped into that fedora, at least in live-action.

But with the video game Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, MachineGames and Bethesda set out to bring the legendary archaeologist to gaming, and Troy Baker was tasked with the near-impossible task of channeling Ford’s iconic performance without turning it into an imitation.

If you’ve played then game then you know that he nailed it!

Ford himself gave Baker his public stamp of approval at The Game Awards 2024, playfully saying: “If I had known he was that good, I would have done it myself.”

Ford doubled down on his praise in a recent Wall Street Journal Magazine interview while discussing his career and Hollywood’s increasing reliance on AI to recreate actors.

“You don’t need artificial intelligence to steal my soul. You can already do it for nickels and dimes with good ideas and talent. (Baker) did a brilliant job, and it didn’t take AI to do it.”

That’s an awesome endorsement, not just of Baker’s performance, but of the idea that real talent can (and should) replace the growing push for AI-generated performances.

Interestingly, Baker wasn’t even the studio’s first pick. Bethesda’s Todd Howard revealed that they initially had reservations about casting him. But after multiple blind auditions, Baker’s take on Indy kept rising to the top, and they just couldn’t ignore it. They cast the best actor for the job.

For any actor, stepping into the shoes of a beloved character comes with immense pressure. Getting praised by the man who is Indiana Jones? That’s a incredibly cool honor.