Phoebe Waller-Bridge has said Indiana Jones should not be revived with anyone other than Harrison Ford as she feels he helped create “a perfect moment in cinematic history”.
The Fleabag actress, 37, stars as the globe-trotting archaeologist’s goddaughter, Helena Shaw, in the fifth and final instalment in the franchise, Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny.
The film sees Ford return as Indiana Jones more than 40 years after his first stint in Raiders Of The Lost Ark in 1981.
Asked if she thinks the series could be revived without Ford, at the Los Angeles premiere of the film on Wednesday, she told the PA news agency: “I don’t think it should be. I think he is Indiana Jones and I think Indiana Jones is him.
“Whatever magic chemistry happened between that script and Steven Spielberg and Harrison Ford is a perfect moment in cinematic history.”
James Mangold has directed the latest instalment while Spielberg was at the helm of the first four films.
Waller-Bridge added that she feels Mangold has done “the most beautiful job” of bringing the series to an end.
“It was wonderful to be by Harrison’s side prodding him and poking him and being annoying as Helena all the way through the movie. It was incredible,” she said.
Waller-Bridge first found her feet at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival where she debuted her hit series Fleabag as a one-woman show in 2013.
After it won the Fringe First Award, it was adapted into a BBC sitcom which won a host of Bafta, Emmy and Golden Globe awards.
The actress admitted being at the premiere did feel “quite Edinburgh”, with the streets being packed and the barricades surrounding the area.
Reflecting on her career trajectory, she said: “Every moment is a pinch-me moment. I kind of disassociate. It’s when you leave these things that you go home and you’re like, ‘What the hell just happened?’
“But I love all these people so much. I love every single person involved in the film.
“We had such a good time. I honestly had the time of my life making this film, I loved it so much. So it’s just so nice to be with everyone to celebrate it.”
The film also stars Mads Mikkelsen as villain Jurgen Voller and Toby Jones as Basil Shaw, an ally of Jones.
Asked why he feels the series has resonated so deeply with fans, Jones told PA: “Who isn’t into adventure? Who isn’t into being led through an adventure by a funny, ironic, brave, handsome, courageous figure – who isn’t into that?
“And it seems to shift tone in a way that people love. That something that’s very interesting about it is how it’s supposed to be comic and be serious at the same time.”
Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny arrives in UK cinemas on June 28.