“I know this is my face”

Harrison Ford has championed the use of antiaging technology in the latest Indiana Jones film.

The 80-year-old actor is back for his latest outing as an adventurous archaeologist in the Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destinywhich premiered at the Cannes Film Festival this week.

While the film mostly shows Indiana the same age as Ford, the film opens with a 25-minute flashback sequence featuring a younger Indy, played by Ford, with the help of digital ageing technology.

The practice attracted criticism from several critics, who questioned the reliability of the technology and why a younger actor could not be used in Ford’s place. You can reading The independentDial of Destiny review here.

However, speaking at a press conference on Friday (19 May), Ford defended the decision.

“I know this is my face,” she is quoted as saying Entertainment Weekly. “It’s not some kind of Photoshop magic – this is what I looked like 35 years ago. Because Lucasfilm has every frame of a movie we’ve made together over the years.

“This process, this scientific mining of this library, is complete [use]… It’s just a gimmick unless it’s backed up by a story, and it sticks out like a sore thumb if it’s not honest, it’s not real… I mean, emotionally real. And so I think it was used very skillfully.”

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny was well received at Cannes, with Ford becomes visibly emotional in the premiere.

‘In tears’ as he was shown a snapshot of his career, the Star Wars actor said: ‘They say that when you’re about to die, you see your life flash before your eyes. I just saw my life before my eyes.

“I’m very moved by this… But I have a film you must see. He’s right behind me. So let me get out of the way, and thank you again for that.”

Somewhere else, Ford had a predictably deadpan response after being told by a reporter that he was still “too hot.”

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny will be released in UK cinemas on June 28.