At 80, Harrison Ford is starring in his first major television role. In “1923,” a prequel to “Yellowstone,” Ford plays Jacob Dutton, a weathered rancher with little patience for shenanigans.

His character’s gruff persona aligns with what we’ve seen in his iconic movie roles as Han Solo and Indiana Jones. But this time, Ford is projecting his swagger-and-smirk style from a smaller screen.

Over nearly 50 years, Ford has been in 70-plus movies with a combined worldwide box office gross of more than $9 billion.

What made him tackle TV now?

“I’m always interested in working with new things,” Ford said in a Paramount+ promotional video. “It doesn’t seem to me that there’s a terrible amount of difference between movies and ambitious television projects anymore.”

Ford’s involvement also can be traced to a meeting with “1923” co-creator Taylor Sheridan on Sheridan’s Silverado ranch near Weatherford, Texas.

“I was there doing some helicopter training in Fort Worth and I had a chance to get to the ranch and sit down and spend an evening with Taylor,” Ford said. “That’s where I heard the story. There was no script, and I met Taylor for the first time. And I got a sense of his ambition for the project.”

Once he saw the script, Ford said he was impressed with it, and he wanted the chance to work again with co-star Helen Mirren, who played his wife in “The Mosquito Coast” (1986).

“When Taylor and I met, it probably preceded the script by at least three or four weeks,” Ford said.

Ford prepared for “1923” by watching “1883,” the first “Yellowstone” prequel that was filmed mostly in Fort Worth.

In “1923,” Ford plays the great-great-great-uncle of John Dutton III, the family patriarch portrayed by Kevin Costner.

“Taylor has written me a matrix for a character which I feel very confident in and feel lucky to have the opportunity to express,” Ford said.