Harrison Ford will not be presenting at the 97th Academy Awards on Sunday night due to a recent shingles diagnosis. The 82-year-old actor received the diagnosis on Friday and decided to withdraw from his presenting duties by Saturday morning. Ford is currently resting and is said to be doing okay.
Shingles is a viral infection that causes a painful rash. The “Star Wars” icon was recently seen at the premiere of season two of “1923” in Los Angeles. On the red carpet, he expressed his enthusiasm for working on the Western show.
Ford withdraws from Oscars due to illness
“I love the viscerality of it, I love the physical nature of the storytelling, I love being in natural circumstances,” Ford said. “[It’s] a kind of old-fashioned movie-making; mostly, no CGI or very little CGI — a little something to sweeten the location.
But it’s really essential, old-time storytelling and I love working with this kind of material.”
Other stars set to present at the Oscars include Robert Downey Jr., Emma Stone, Cillian Murphy, and Da’Vine Joy Randolph. Additional presenters include Oprah Winfrey, Selena Gomez, Ben Stiller, Sterling K. Brown, Willem Dafoe, Goldie Hawn, Joe Alwyn, Ana de Armas, Connie Nielsen, and Lily-Rose Depp.
The Oscars, hosted by Conan O’Brien, will take place at the Dolby Theatre. The ceremony airs live on ABC and will be available for streaming on Hulu on March 2, starting at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT.
