Some of you may remember the eye-opening, star-studded Showtime series “Years of Living Dangerously” that featured first-hand accounts about the effects of climate change. Celebrity correspondents including Arnold Schwarzenegger, Matt Damon, and Jessica Alba all traveled around the glove to see the effects of global warming firsthand.
Ford also appeared in the docuseries, and used his considerable star power to help promote the show during an AMA (Ask Me Anything) Q&A on Reddit. When the questions weren’t centered around the potential global catastrophe we’re all facing, the discussion naturally turned to whether or not Ford was really afraid of snakes in real life. Surprisingly, Ford had this to say:
“I actually like snakes! When I was young, I was a boy scout nature camp counselor, and one of our projects was collecting snakes and creating an environment for them, so I’m quite familiar with snakes and think they’r[e] fantastic creatures.”
Ford’s actual love of snakes aside, his boyhood experience as a boy scout inspired the thrilling circus train opening in “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” showcasing River Phoenix as a young Indy. Falling victim to his ophidiophobia once again in “Dial of Destiny,” Indy encounters a bed of eels as he and his companions dive into the sea to find the other half of the Antikythera — an Ancient Greek calculator that actually existed.
In the scene, Indy tries to convince himself that the eels don’t really resemble snakes at all, making for one of the best callbacks in “Dial of Destiny” that doesn’t feel overly forced or ham-handed. His fear of snakes encompasses everything we love about the character, and knowing that Ford himself isn’t really phased by them at all adds another layer to what’s arguably the most memorable scene in the entire franchise.