Ed Harris: The right stuff for the movies

Ed Harris as astronaut John Glenn in "The Right Stuff" in 1983.

Source: https://movieweb.com/the-right-stuff-realistic-space-movie-streaming-free/

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He would go on to some remarkable performances in movies such as “Apollo 13”, “The Truman Show”, “Step Mom”, “The Rock”, “A Beautiful Mind”, “Pollock”, and so much more, but I will always remember when I first saw him.

He was playing John Glenn, who trying to become the first man in space, as part of the United States Space Program in “The Right Stuff”.

It is Ed Harris’ birthday today, and hearing that took me back to the epic movie and some of his other iconic performances.

Going into space
Ed Harris appeared in a few movies in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, but came to prominence when he played a true American hero in “The Right Stuff” in 1983.

The movie chronicled the American Air Force, Navy and Marine test pilots flying at Edwards Air Force Base in California in the 1960s, as well as the pilots chosen for the space program.

Sam Shepherd plays Chuck Yeager who was the first pilot to break the sound barrier; Scott Glen plays Alan B. Shepard; Dennis Quaid plays Gordon Cooper; Lance Henriksen plays Wally Schirra; Scott Paulin plays Deke Slayton; Fred Ward plays my favourite, Virgil Grissom; and Ed Harris plays John Glenn.

It was Harris’ first major role and he not only looked, but acted the part.

“The Right Stuff” was another movie I watched on a Sunday night on Channel 13 of the peasant vision dial, all broken up by commercial breaks. It went so long, I had to keep the volume down really low, so I didn’t keep my parents up. Consequently, I am not sure I picked up everything that was happening.

In any event, that movie taught me a lot about the space program, and the men who were part of it.

It is a good companion piece to the “Space” miniseries I saw a year later.

“Swing Shift”
The next time I saw Ed Harris was a couple years later. I was in Grade 12 and had already been accepted to the University of Alberta in Edmonton. My cousin Nina was finishing her final year at the U of A, and she offered to take me on a campus tour. So my Mom, my sister and I drove up to Edmonton and stayed the night. Nina took me on a tour, which was quite overwhelming to be honest. Everything was kind of a blur. We went to supper at a place called Maxwell Taylor’s where I had the “Chicken Mushroom Chicken”, a meal that would become my favourite over the next few years.

Then we went back to Nina’s apartment in Newton Place which, in 1987, was across from the campus. It is now part of campus as the university bought the building. Nina had two roommates, for this two-bedroom apartment, so a bedroom had been crafted out of half of the living room. It seemed to suit her roommate fine.

We stayed on the floor on the other half of the living room.

It was Saturday night, so Nina suggested we watch a movie. “Swing Shift” was playing on the equivalent of Channel 13 in Edmonton, which was another CTV affiliate. The movie came out in 1984 and starred Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell. Hawn plays a woman who goes to work in a munitions factory after her husband enlists in the army following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour. Russell plays a plant worker who has a romantic interest in her.

Harris plays the husband who goes off to war.

It was another supporting role for Harris, but I do recall enjoying that movie, despite all the commercials.

The Abyss
Ed Harris also appeared in two other notable movies that I never have seen but should – “Under Fire” in 1983 and “Places in the Heart” in 1984.

The next time I saw him, I was in a very different place in my life. It was 1989 and I was in my third year of university. I had moved on to a floor where the people loved to go out and do things. They saw a lot of movies, and I saw my fair share with them.

One the of the best was called “The Abyss”. It’s about an American submarine that sinks in the Carribbean. When a search and rescue team works to rescue them, they battle Soviets and find an alien visitor down below.

Harris plays the foreman of an underwater drilling platform that is used as a base of operations. He is also the estranged husband of the platform’s designer, so that adds another level of drama.

I remember the characters, especially Harris’, being engaging and leaving the theatre really liking the movie, partly because it was not what I had expected.

The years after
Ed Harris would go on to movies such as “Glengarry Glen Ross” in 1992; “The Firm” and “Needful Things” in 1993; “Nixon” and “Apollo 13” in 1995; “The Rock” in 1996; “The Truman Show” and “Stepmom” in 1998; “Pollock” in 2000; “”A Beautiful Mind” in 2001; “The Hours” in 2002; “Radio” in 2003; and much more.

He was nominated for an Oscar for Best Actor in a leading Role for “Pollock” and Oscars for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for “Apollo 13”; “The Truman Show”; and “The Hours”.

Harris has also been nominated for three Primetime Emmy awards.

Parting thoughts
Whenever I think of Ed Harris, I think of his performance as Gene Kranz in “Apollo 13” and Christof in “The Truman Show”.

So, when I think of Ed Harris in the ‘80s, I think of an actor who was just getting started.

He was on his way to finding the right stuff.