Acclaimed English actor Jared Harris has had an undeniably illustrious career, delivering Emmy-nominated performances in Mad Men and Chernobyl to supporting roles in Robert Downey Jr.’s Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows. But the star has also experienced some bumps in the cinematic road – namely in the form of his role as Dr. Emil Nicholas in the flopped Spider-Man spin-off Morbius, which Harris has candidly described as a job he took solely to pay the bills.
Since its debut in 2022, the Internet has formed an interesting love-to-hate relationship with Morbius. The failed Marvel property is notorious for its disappointing reviews and dismal box office performance, which is something that Harris is evidently very aware of. Speaking to the U.K.’s iNews, Harris humorously confessed that he only signed onto Morbius in order to pay his mortgage.
“I have got a mortgage to pay, you know. Sometimes you say yes to things because you need to make money.”
Although somewhat shocking to hear from the mouth of such an esteemed performer, the state of today’s economy has left more than a few of us scrambling for extra cash, and it appears that even BAFTA and Emmy-nominated actors aren’t exempt from this reality.
Harris also didn’t shy away from sharing his opinions about why Morbius flopped. Given all the memes that surfaced following Morbius‘s release, Harris’s conclusion that the film may have actually gained traction if it hadn’t taken itself so seriously seems right on the nose.
“I have observed that those types of films do well if you have a sense of humor,” he stated. “You can’t treat it as though it’s Shakespeare. So yeah, that movie could have done with a more mischievous sense of humor.”
Jared Harris Has Zero Interest in Joining the Harry Potter Reboot
Fortunately, the actor doesn’t seem to have taken too hard a hit from Morbius‘s catastrophic failure. Recently, the actor has been making headlines as a result of his staunch denial to reclaim his father’s role in the upcoming HBO Harry Potter spin-off series. The late Richard Harris portrayed Albus Dumbledore in the first two Harry Potter films, the latter of which was his final role, bringing a fatherly compassion and twinkle of mischief to the esoteric old wizard. However, Jared Harris has not only refused to take up his father’s mantle, but he’s also been passionately advocating against the need for a Harry Potter reboot. But, will that still be the case when there are more bills to pay? Harris said recently to The Independent:
“No, thank you. Also, I mean, why do it? I don’t understand. The films were fantastic – leave them alone.”
As far as upcoming roles, Harris is expected to join the ensemble cast of Oscar-winning director Kathryn Bigelow’s upcoming Netflix film about White House staffers grappling with an impending missile strike on America.