Shingles diagnosis forces Harrison Ford to withdraw as Oscars presenter

A case of shingles has sidelined Harrison Ford, who dropped out as an Oscars presenter over the weekend. His “Star Wars” partner in crime, Mark Hamill, will replace him at the podium , ABC News reported. No sooner had the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the 82-year-old “Indiana Jones” star as a presenter last Wednesday than the veteran actor came down with the painful, rash-inducing illness caused by the same virus that gives kids chickenpox.

Ford’s rep said he had been diagnosed on Friday and officially dropped out of the Oscars ceremony on Saturday morning. He was doing OK and resting , Entertainment Weekly reported. Ford was slated to present along with Dave Bautista, Gal Gadot, Andrew Garfield, Samuel L.



Jackson, Margaret Qualley, Alba Rohrwacher, Zoe Saldaña and Rachel Zegler, the Academy said. Other, previously announced presenters include Halle Berry, Penélope Cruz, Willem Dafoe, Lily-Rose Depp, Robert Downey Jr., Elle Fanning, Whoopi Goldberg, Selena Gomez, Goldie Hawn, Scarlett Johansson, Bowen Yang and John Lithgow, among many others.

Ford presented at the Screen Actors Guild awards last week, famously cracker-bombing his “Shrinking” co-star Jessica Williams beforehand by crunching in the background as she was delivering a monologue about her acting journey from their table..