Harrison FordandWendie Malickare sharing the screen these days on Apple TV+‘sShrinking, but they could have been co-stars much earlier. Malick auditioned to play hard-drinking adventurer Marion Ravenwood inRaiders of the Lost Ark, but a schedule change left her unprepared. She discussed the incident onJesse Tyler Ferguson’s podcast,Dinner’s On Me, this week.
DirectorSteven Spielbergapparently saw the then-unknown actor in an Excedrin commercial, andhad her come in to audition to play the female lead opposite Ford’s Indiana Jones: “I get this call: Steven Spielberg, who I don’t think I knew who he was at that time, and this guy,George Lucas. They want you to come in to meet them. It was Valentine’s Day…we just talked, and they put me on film. We laughed and had a lovely time for, I don’t know, like, 45 minutes or something.”
She was told to come in for a screen test on the following Monday, and proceeded to have a low-key Valentine’s Day: “I think I got stoned. I was drinking. I was just like, ‘Ahhhh! This is it!'” After Spielberg and Lucas’ schedules changed, however,she was asked to come in the next day, hungover and unprepared:“I hadn’t done anything. I was at my boyfriend’s house, I didn’t have the right clothes, I didn’t have anything, and I just really sucked at that thing. And when I saw the movie, I thought, ‘Oh, I would’vekilledin that.'” The role ultimately went toKaren Allen, but there were no hard feelings, as Malick noted: “Karen’s lovely, butI just was really pissed off at myself.”
Who Is Wendie Malick?
After a series of small roles in film and television, Malick broke out playingBrian Benben’s ex-wife on the pioneering HBO sitcomDream On. Following that series’ end, she had a lengthy stint on NBC’sJust Shoot Meas ex-supermodel Nina Van Horn. After joiningFrasierfor its last season, playing Martin Crane’s girlfriend and later wife, she starred alongsideValerie Bertinelli,Betty White, andFrasierco-starJane Leevesin the TV Land originalHot in Cleveland. Recently, she’s recurred onYoung Sheldon,BoJack Horseman, andNight Court, as well as lending her voice to Cartoon Network’sThe Owl House. She currently stars withSchuyler Fiskin Hallmark’sThe Chicken Sisters, which has been renewed for a second season.
InRaiders of the Lost Ark, Marion Ravenwood is the daughter of Dr. Abner Ravenwood, Indiana Jones’ mentor. After Abner’s death, Indiana recruits her to help him find the Ark of the Covenant. Allen would later reprise the role in 2008’sIndiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, where she reveals that her son, Mutt (Shia LaBeouf), is Jones' son as well, and in 2024’sIndiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, where she reconciles with Jones afterMutt’s death in Vietnam.
Season 3 ofShrinkingis now in production;no release date has yet been announced. Stay tuned to Collider for future updates.
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Source:Dinner’s On Me
