Harrison Ford Talks About Screening 42 for President Obama and First Lady

Actor dishes about meeting the president and first lady and their interest in his new Jackie Robinson biopic

By Josh Grossberg Apr 10, 2013 6:47 PMTags
Watch: Harrison Ford Meets Obamas at "42" Premiere

Sounds like Harrison Ford hit a home run showing his latest film 42 at the White House for President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama.

"They were very gracious," the legendary actor told E! News at this week's premiere at Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood.

Ford, 70, said the screening last week of the new Jackie Robinson biopic served as a much-needed reminder of America's past.

"I think they felt it was very important as a bit of our history and to remind young people what it felt like, not just to read about it, but to understand how it felt [being] a victim of racism at that time," said the star.

In 42, Ford plays Branch Rickey, the Dodgers' general manager who signed the future Hall of Famer and broke baseball's color barrier.

At the event, FLOTUS couldn't resist joking about her excitement at meeting the star, telling a student audience that she was "tripping out."

Ford also had high praise for costar Chadwick Boseman, who plays Robinson.

"He's great. He worked so hard to gain the skills of a baseball player. He's a wonderful actor. It was a real pleasure," he said.

For more, tune into E! News tonight at 7 p.m.

—Reporting by Dan Wally