They are both renowned for their leading roles in science fiction. However, when Scottish actress Karen Gillan teams up with Hollywood legend Harrison Ford later this year, it will not be on a distant planet or in a faraway galaxy. Instead, the duo will appear together on the small screen in a comedy-drama set in modern-day America, centered around a highly unorthodox therapist.
Ford's Role in Shrinking
Ford, who first rose to fame as Han Solo in the Star Wars films nearly five decades ago, has already featured as a main character in the first three seasons of Shrinking. It has now been announced that 38-year-old Gillan will join him in a major role for season four.
Gillan's Career Highlights
The Inverness-born actress began her career as Amy Pond in the BBC's time-travel drama Doctor Who in 2010, before landing a starring role as the alien assassin Nebula in the Guardians of the Galaxy movie franchise.
Plot of Shrinking
Shrinking, which premiered in 2023, revolves around Jimmy Laird, played by American actor Jason Segel, a therapist mourning his wife Tia after her death in a car accident. Growing weary of his patients' inability to solve their own problems, he begins intervening in their lives, crossing multiple ethical and professional boundaries to help them make changes. Ford, now 83, portrays Dr. Paul Rhoades, a senior therapist and colleague of Jimmy's at the cognitive behavioral therapy centre who has Parkinson's disease.
Details of Gillan's Role
Details of Gillan's upcoming role in Shrinking are still under wraps. However, Apple TV, which produces the show, will be hoping this new project proves more successful than the pair's previous collaboration.
Previous Collaboration: Call of the Wild
In 2020, Gillan and Ford worked together on the animal adventure film Call of the Wild, set in the late 19th century. The story follows a dog named Buck, who is stolen from his home in California and sent to the Yukon wilderness, where he befriends an old outdoorsman. The film cost an estimated $125–$150 million to produce, but its cinema release was cut short as the world entered lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, it grossed only $111 million, meaning 20th Century Studios incurred a significant loss.
