In a recent interview with Collider, Ford compared the experience of working on huge blockbusters to the supposedly smaller scope of “1923,” a show that already feels pretty epic so far over the first few episodes. “For me, for an actor, there’s not much difference between shooting for television and shooting for a feature film,” Ford said to no one’s surprise. “There may be actually more time to develop a character over a number of different episodes than you have in a two-hour film. But it really is the only difference really these days, I believe.”
Ford has been in the business so long that he remembers when the line between television and film was rarely ever crossed. “We used to think of television as having less ambition, perhaps, than feature films. It’s no longer the case at all.”
It’s worth noting that there aren’t a lot of TV shows currently that have the scope and scale of “Yellowstone” or that of the first prequel series, “1883.” In “1923,” Ford is already stepping into an established universe that’s taking full advantage of the grandeur of the outdoor world. “This is one of the most ambitious undertakings I’ve ever taken on, and I’m so pleased with what I’ve seen so far,” he says. “I’ve been enjoying working with very high-quality actors and actresses, and we have the technical capacity and ambition to shoot this the way it was a feature film. It’s quite beautiful to look at. I’m thrilled with the whole project.”
And he should be thrilled. Playing in such a large sandbox with the support of an entire network behind you is a great luxury. Putting on a cowboy hat and traveling back in time to the 1920s on a big-budget period Western like “1923” is a unique experience, even for someone with Ford’s résumé.