Before becoming a famous visionary director, Zack Snyder started as a painter. From being a painter to becoming an artistic commercial/movie director, Snyder has earned quite a name for himself. He has worked with many renowned actors, including Harrison Ford. How was the Justice League director’s experience of working with the legendary actor in a commercial?

During their conversation at Pizza Film School, the Russo Brothers and Zack Snyder talked about Snyder’s journey of being a director. While talking about other aspects of filmmaking, the American director shared his experience of working with Harrison Ford. The Man of Steel director shot a commercial for a car that the Blade Runner actor starred in. “He’s an animal,” said Snyder about Ford, remembering he was the DP and the director of the commercial.

He said so about the American actor because before Snyder would direct him, Ford explained what he would do. Surprisingly, that was what the 300 director had in mind. He was star-struck by Ford’s camera sense and admired him for that. As it was a car commercial, they would have to include all the parts of the car. And, because of the Indiana Jones actor’s brilliant understanding, it became easier for Snyder to shoot the commercial.

One of the hardest parts, as they discussed in the podcast, was to tell the actor what to do and how to do it. Therefore, it becomes a little tricky process for the director. While some actors would understand what they have to do exactly, others would just not get it. But the way Harrison Ford exactly understood things, Snyder was able to complete the shoot earlier than he had thought.

What does the Justice League director think about the importance of an actor-director relationship?

As the director has to look after almost all the things in the production, communicating with the actor is extremely important. However, the hard part is to translate the vision into words. Therefore, the 57-year-old director thinks it is extremely important for the actor to have an understanding of the director’s vision.

It is not just about the vision, but also about the knowledge of the basics of the camera as well. While the directors went on talking about their experiences with different actors, Ford’s example won Snyder’s heart.

He still remembers the experience like it happened just yesterday. What are your thoughts about Snyder’s description of Harrison Ford? Share with us in the comments.