Actor Harrison Ford shows he's not slowing down soon in new television series 1923

At 80 years old, you'd imagine actor Harrison Ford might be thinking of putting his feet up but he's as busy as he's ever been.

His fifth outing as Indiana Jones hits the big screen next year but before that fans can enjoy his first-ever lead role in a television series.

Living legend Harrison Ford is no stranger to a good hat and for his first major foray onto the small screen, Ford reportedly tried on 75 of them before he got it just right.

Ford is starring in a new show called 1923 which is a prequel to the hit show Yellowstone, which was created by writer and director Taylor Sheridon.

"It's a splendid opportunity. It's complex and very ambitious. He's created a character for me to play unlike any other I've played. It's been challenging but also great fun," Ford told Newshub's Kate Rodger.

Ford plays the hardcore Dutton rancher, Jacob, which follows the trail forged by Tim McGraw in 1883 as the very first Dutton patriarch James and of course the original Kevin Costner as John Dutton in five seasons and counting of Yellowstone.

One thing Ford knew he would be signing up for when filming the series was lots and lots of horses.

When Newshub's Kate Rodger asked Ford: "I rode a horse recently and couldn't walk for a week - how does it feel to get back on a horse?"

The actor laughed and said: "Haha - you know similar, similar. Within an hour-and-a-half of meeting Taylor, he had me on a horse."

But you won't hear any complaints from this spritely 80-year-old.

"It's great fun to be outdoors. Working with animals, working in nature [and] suffering the consequences of course because it's damn cold up there. But I'm real happy with what we have on screen," Ford said.

The first two episodes of the show have premiered on Amazon Prime.