The Fugitive Director Andrew Davis Reflects On Directing One Of The Best Films Of The 1990s [Exclusive Interview]
In the 1990s, Hollywood's obsession with intellectual property wasn't nearly as all-consuming as it is now, but studios were still interested in giving themselves a perceived leg up by occasionally leaning on source material that might be familiar to audiences. The absolute best-case scenario for this type of situation was "The Fugitive," a new spin on an old TV series. With a $44 million budget, Chicago-born director Andrew Davis turned what could have been a by-the-numbers chase flick into a worldwide smash hit (only behind "Jurassic Park" and "Mrs. Doubtfire") that earned seven Academy Award nominations, with Tommy Lee Jones going on to win Best Supporting Actor. It's the rare action film to be nominated for Best Picture, its star turns from Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones are pitch-perfect, its ensemble is comprised of a murderer's row of terrific character actors, and the film's breathless pacing always keeps you on the edge of your seat.
To mark the 30th anniversary of "The Fugitive" and the film's recent home entertainment release on 4K Ultra HD, I was thrilled to have the opportunity to speak with director Andrew Davis about working with two notoriously grumpy lead actors, a little behind the scenes drama, and more.
Note: This interview has been lightly edited for clarity and brevity.
'He's the greatest silent actor we have'
Tommy Lee Jones and Harrison Ford both have reputations as no nonsense guys, but I'm curious about their acting styles. A significant percentage of a director's job is to manage personalities, so I'm wondering if they had similar needs as actors or if you had to navigate different methods of working in order to get those performances from them?
I didn't have to work hard to get performances from these guys. I mean, the story was clear what the issues were, and this is the third film I had done with Tommy, so we had a relationship where I would just try to create a realistic environment and surround him with interesting characters he could play off of. And I didn't ever say, "Say it slower" or, "Have a different tone to your voice." If something didn't work, it was pretty clear we would do another take, but we didn't shoot a lot like that. And Harrison, basically, through most of the movie, is pretty much a silent actor. He's reacting to things, so it's his body language that's showing this danger. And I've said this before, but we were out on the edge of the dam and he's going like this [raises hands in surrender], and Tommy's saying, "He's the greatest silent actor we have."
'We tested a few other actors'
I've heard you say before that initially, Ford was a little reticent about Tommy because he thought that he would be too powerful and take over the movie. Do you remember having to talk him down from that ledge at all, or did he just come around naturally?
Well, he hired me based upon seeing "Under Siege," and Tommy's pretty great in "Under Siege." He's in the movie more than Seagal, another Warner picture. So we tested a few other actors, and it was clear they weren't going to be able to stand up to what Tommy could do. And finally Harrison said, "All right, go ahead. I'll take on the challenge," and he invited me to his place in Wyoming, and I got off the plane and he says, "We're going to Chicago." Because I wanted to go to Chicago. I'm from Chicago. So I got Tommy, and I got Chicago. I knew I was going to be in fat city.
'Oh, there was a scene that got cut'
I think "The Fugitive" is one of the most rewatchable movies of the entire 1990s, and I know that you've probably seen it a lot over the past year doing press for this anniversary and overseeing the new restoration for the 4K release. I was wondering if you've noticed a small moment in the movie on these recent rewatches that sticks out to you now for any reason?
Well, the whole process of remastering and looking at it frame by frame and adjusting the color and the texture of every shot, and the remixing of it and hearing the great score by James Newton Howard and the effects that were created — it was nominated for Academy Awards in music and sound and all kinds of stuff. I just was very flattered and lucky that I had such a great team working with me and for me. It's funny, because I remember when we were in Venice showing the movie, there's a scene where Harrison gets picked up on the road by a woman. And Ivan Reitman was sitting behind us and he tapped Harrison and I said, "Oh, there was a scene that got cut." And there was a scene in the cafe where he met this woman. It wasn't just some woman you're picking up. So that's the only sort of, "Why would a woman pick up this guy walking down the street?" But people don't blink at it. It's nice woman, good-looking guy. "I'll give him a ride." That's the only thing that's sort of a little twisty.
'I would rather have a perfect script'
I know that this script was very much in flux and scenes were being written on the day, and I was just curious if you typically like to work that way as a director?
Well, you always want to work with the greatest script in the world that doesn't need anything done to it. But you also want to take advantage of the talent of the actors who have something to bring to it that the writer didn't think about. A lot of actors who work with great other writers and directors — Joey Pants, people like that, Tommy — can bring something to the set. So I would rather have a perfect script, but at the same time, it's like Kubrick says, "You can plan and plan and plan, but if it's not working, you've got to fix it." But anyway, the Blu-ray looks fantastic and it sounds fantastic. It looks better than you ever could see it in the theater, so I recommend people go get it.
"The Fugitive" is now available on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, DVD, and VOD.