Karen Allen first appeared alongside Harrison Ford in Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark back in 1981. She returned to the film series a couple of years ago, reprising her role as Marion Ravenwood for Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.
She’s in Australia for the Armageddon Expo, which hits Adelaide this weekend at the Adelaide Showgrounds. BBM’S BEN HARLUM caught up with Karen in Sydney before she made the trip to SA.
Is this your first time in Australia?
No, I’ve actually done a film here (Sweet Talker) with Bryan Brown about 20 years ago. This is my fourth time back, but it’s my first convention here.
Is there a particular question or comment that the fans here always ask?
They all want to know what it was like to work with Harrison Ford, and all about filming Indiana Jones. It’s weird because when we were filming Raiders, we didn’t know how it was going to turn out – and now by the fourth film all this attention has been devoted to the series, it’s amazing.
How did you end up getting the part of Marion for the first film?
Steven Speilberg had seen a film that I had done called A Small Circle of Friends which was set in the 1960’s, and it was my first real leading role in a film. He was also friends with John Landis, who directed Animal House, so he was just interested in meeting me while he was getting ready to cast Raiders.
He flew me to Los Angeles and I did a screen test with these actors, but they had no Indiana Jones cast. They hired me as Marion anyway but they still had no leading man – Tom Selleck was originally cast until Magnum PI was picked up – finally they realized that they wanted Harrison Ford for the part, regardless of whether he had done Star Wars with George or not.
And it’s lucky you both had such great chemistry then!
Yeah, exactly. It was so fun working with him.
Do you get recognized for Animal House?
Oh yes, absolutely! It actually amazes me that I do because it was filmed back in 1978 yet I still get recognized. People always stop me in the street and yell “Katy!” – it’s crazy.
What’s it like coming down to work these conventions with John Rhys-Davies, your co-star in Indiana Jones?
We get along great, and got along just as great when we filmed the first Indiana Jones film. We also did a film together, two years after Raiders, and have done other projects together too. We haven’t seen each other for a long time though so it’s great to spend time together here in Sydney and Adelaide.
Do you have any inside word about the next Indiana Jones film?
Your guess is as good as mine – as far as I know there’s one in the works. They’re currently trying to write the script, there’s an idea that they all really like – but Harrison, George and Steven all have to approve. It has to be finished and approved but I hope it does happen. I’d love to be a part of it.
What’s next on the plate for you?
Well I have a film that’s just opening as soon as I come back from Adelaide, literally. It opens March 10th and I arrive the day before. It’s called White Irish Drinkers and stars Stephen Lang – it’s a really wonderful independent film that we shot in 17 days. I like to do a lot of the smaller independent films because I really enjoy well-written films, and they seem to be the smaller-budget ones that have the more meatier characters – the bigger blockbuster films seem more formulaic to me. But when you get the chance to do a film like Indiana Jones you just can’t turn it down.
Karen and friends hit Armageddon on March 5 and 6 at the Adelaide Showgrounds. For more information, visit armageddonexpo.com – tickets are available from Ticketek and on the door.
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