Harrison Ford Cancels Oscars Presenting Role After Shingles Diagnosis

Harrison Ford Cancels Oscars Presenting Role After Shingles Diagnosis

Ford received the diagnosis on Friday, Feb. 28, and will no longer attend the awards ceremony on Sunday, March 2

Harrison Ford arrives at the Los Angeles premiere of Paramount+ Series "1923" Season 2
Harrison Ford attends the premiere of ‘1923 in Los Angeles on Feb. 19, 2025. Photo: Maya Dehlin Spach/FilmMagic

Harrison Ford has dropped out as a presenter at the 2025 Oscars due to illness.

A rep for the actor confirmed to PEOPLE on Saturday, March 1, that the actor, 82, was diagnosed with shingles on Friday. He canceled his planned appearance at the ceremony on Saturday morning.

Harrison Ford attends the 31st Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards at Shrine Auditorium and Expo Hall on February 23, 2025 in Los Angeles, California
Harrison Ford attends the 31st Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards on Feb. 23, 2025.Neilson Barnard/Getty

The Indiana Jones star most recently appeared at the 2025 Screen Actors Guild Awards in Los Angeles on Sunday, Feb. 23 — without his wife, Calista Flockhart, whom he told PEOPLE was busy starring in a New York City production of Curse of the Starving Class by the late Sam Shepard.

During one funny moment at the awards show, as his Shrinking costar Jessica Williams was giving a speech from their table for the SAG Awards’ famous “I Am an Actor” segment, Ford was hilariously caught stuffing his face with a cracker in the background.

“Los Angeles is known as the city of dreams and sure enough, all of my dreams have come true here, from my dream of preparing,” Williams, 35, said before she was interrupted by the audience’s laughter.

Seeing the giggles were caused by Ford’s eating followed by his surprised face, she joined in on the lighthearted moment.

“I told him to turn away! Don’t look!” Williams quipped during the bit.

Speaking with PEOPLE on the ceremony’s red carpet, Ford opened up about the reception of Shrinking, sharing that he particularly enjoyed fans’ reactions to the AppleTV+ series.

“I didn’t know what it was going to be, but it turned out to be something very special for me,” Ford told PEOPLE and Entertainment Weekly of how viewers have reacted to the show.

He added, “I’m very touched by the kind of contact I have with fans of the show. They only wanna say that they enjoy it. They don’t want anything. They don’t want a picture, they don’t want an autograph. They just wanna share their pleasure in what it is that we are doing.”

The Oscars is still set to be star-studded, as the ceremony previously announced that the list of presenters will include Emilia Pérez star Selena GomezThe Brutalist‘s Joe AlwynNosferatu‘s Lily-Rose Depp and Willem Dafoe, and Gladiator II‘s Connie Nielsen. Other presenters include Oprah WinfreySterling K. BrownAna de ArmasBen StillerNick OffermanGoldie Hawn, as well as 2024 Oscar winners Robert Downey Jr.Cillian MurphyDa’Vine Joy Randolph and Emma Stone.

Conan O’Brien is set to host the Oscars ceremony, which will air live from the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood on Sunday, March 2, at 7 p.m. ET on ABC and Hulu.

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