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From the minds of Bill Lawrence, Brett Goldstein, and Jason Segel, Shrinking is a comedy-drama series on Apple TV+ that focuses on the importance of mental health and having a strong support system. Following the death of his wife, Jimmy Laird (Segel) goes through a severe grieving process that affects his work as a therapist and his relationship with his teenage daughter, Alice (Lukita Maxwell). Realizing he’s had enough of his clients complaining about the same issues, he adopts an unorthodox method of helping them by being very open with them and taking their sessions outside the office. Jimmy’s mentor and colleague, Paul Rhoades (Harrison Ford), calls him a “psychological vigilante” because he’s becoming too involved in his patients’ lives, but Jimmy continues this new way of healing.
One of the highlights of Shrinking is watching the dynamic between Segel and Ford as they bounce off each other like an odd couple. Ford is best known for playing characters with a rough exterior like Han Solo in the Star Wars franchise or the titular character in the Indiana Jones films. While Paul Rhoades in Shrinking has a gruff persona, Ford portrays him as having a level of vulnerability and chuckle-worthy jokes. So what caused Ford to shift from these roles to playing a more layered character? Segel claims it was one of his comedy films that convinced Ford to sign on for Shrinking.
A Nude Jason Segel in ‘Forgetting Sarah Marshall’ Made Harrison Ford Join ‘Shrinking’
In a recent interview with The Daily Show, Segel shares for the first time how he convinced Ford to do a comedy series. Since Ford wasn’t too aware of who Segel was, the production team told him to watch Forgetting Sarah Marshall to get an idea of who he’d be working with. After seeing the film, Ford texted Lawrence saying, “I’m in. BTW, good dick.” This comment is in reference to one of the first scenes of the film when Segel’s character, Peter Bretter, comes out of the shower completely naked and is surprised to see his girlfriend, Sarah Marshall (Kristen Bell) in his apartment. She breaks up with him, while director Nicholas Stoller includes full-frontal shots of a nude Peter processing the news.
Any fan of Ford’s would’ve loved to see the actor’s genuine reaction to this specific scene in Forgetting Sarah Marshall, let alone how he felt about the other R-rated moments in the film. As Segel notes, it was clearly enough to sway Ford into taking a role in Shrinking. With how blunt Ford can be during press interviews, one can only imagine if his first interaction with Segel during the production of Shrinking Season 1 involved complimenting his work on Forgetting Sarah Marshall.

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Jason Segel and Harrison Ford Are a Dynamic Duo in ‘Shrinking’
Segel bears it all in an unforgettable breakup scene in that film, and he gives a different kind of freeing performance as Jimmy in Shrinking. Ford and Segel’s acting in Shrinking Season 1 landed them nominations for the Critics’ Choice Awards, Golden Globes, and the Emmys. While they’ve yet to win the awards for these roles, there’s still time as Season 2 is currently streaming on Apple TV+ and a third season has officially been announced.
Who would’ve thought that a raunchy romantic comedy like Forgetting Sarah Marshall would be the reason for one of Ford’s best roles of all time? Even though Paul holds the senior position at the Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Center in Shrinking, it doesn’t mean that his colleagues Jimmy and Gaby (Jessica Williams) don’t have anything to teach him. With his Parkinson’s diagnosis, he grows to accept that he can no longer operate independently and opens himself up to the people around him. On the surface level, their characters may not get along, but the actors and the creative team dig deep and show that no matter who someone is on the outside, everyone is human and will always need help.
New episodes of Shrinking Season 2 are available every Wednesday on Apple TV+ in the U.S.
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