Writer and actor Phoebe Waller-Bridge says she passed time on the set of the latest Indiana Jones film playing crosswords and chatting with the film's star, Harrison Ford.

"I feel like I had the great privilege of working with Harrison, but I also had the great privilege of doing crosswords and getting bored with Harrison, not with him, but as we got to sit together, and while you're waiting for something to be set up, we got to chat," Waller-Bridge says in a Zoom interview with ABC News. She plays Jones's goddaughter in the film. 

"We got to sort of find out about each other's lives a bit … I thought it was one of the greatest privileges of the film was to actually get to know Harrison."

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is the fifth and final instalment in the Indiana Jones franchise, which started with 1981's Raiders of the Lost Ark.

The beloved series, created by George Lucas, follows an archaeologist getting into squabbles with Nazis and Soviets while on the hunt for ancient relics. The first four films were directed by Steven Spielberg.

This fifth film follows Indiana Jones in 1969 as he reunites with his goddaughter Helena Shaw (Waller-Bridge) and the two race against a former Nazi to find a mystical dial that enables the user to travel through time.

James Mangold takes over directing duties, and the cast includes Ford, Mads Mikkelsen, Waller-Bridge, Antonio Banderas, Boyd Holbrook and Shaunette Renee Wilson.

For Danish actor Mikkelsen, who plays the villain Jurgen Voller, Indiana Jones was a significant part of his life growing up in Denmark.

"I rented it on VHS with my brother and five other films," Mikkelsen says. "And we didn't watch the other films because we watched Indiana Jones five times. That's what it is …it's just magnetic. And it's never left me or my generation."

Mikkelsen says Ford was constantly giving him a dead arm from purposely bumping into him while on set.

"I would have loved to have some crossword action going on," Mikkelsen says. "He's [Ford] funny, he's a teenager. He's also an adult when he has to be, but he brings so much good energy to the set."

The film also introduces new characters, including CIA operative Mason, played by Wilson.

"We did have little chats, You know, he [Ford] was just like, he has so much experience of life — not just as an actor, but as a person," said Wilson, who plays as CIA operative in the film.

"He told me that he thinks his family was the first on their block with a TV. And so, we were talking about technology and the evolution of technology … so relatable."

Holbrook, who plays one of Voller's henchmen, says Ford would constantly throw things at him on set.

"He's as mad as a box of squirrels. He's got this energy, and it's memories I'll have forever," Holbrook said.

Mikkelsen is known for playing villains, including Le Chiffre in the James Bond film Casino Royale, Hannibal Lecter, and the accountant in Rihanna's music video for Bitch Better Have My Money (that last role, he says, finally earned him some brownie points with his son, who until that point hadn't really been impressed with his father's resume).

Mikkelsen has said previously that he tries to find the human side of the characters he embodies, but the fact that Jurgen Voller is a Nazi, "makes it a little harder".

"There's a passionate man in there. And he's a scientist not unlike Indiana Jones going for something that might be able to change the world for the better, and so that's what I focus on. But eventually, he does wear a uniform and a funny hat and then you know who he is," Mikkelsen said.

Waller-Bridge's Helena has a "deep relationship" with Indiana Jones

Ford has previously described the connection between Indiana Jones and his goddaughter as one of the deepest relationships the series has created.

"It's not just like all the female roles before have been, you know, romantic love interests, which all kind of end either one way or the other. The wonderful thing about this relationship is you don't know where it's gonna go," Waller-Bridge said.

"And it forced the relationship to be more complex because they could really change each other's lives if they allowed each other in. And it would be really heartbreaking to see a friendship like that not come to fruition in a way that they could find a family together. So I think it was a really unique story."

The opening of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny takes place in 1944, meaning the 80-year-old Harrison Ford had to be de-aged into his late 30s for the flashback scenes.

To do this, visual effects company Industrial Light and Magic used face replacement technology to map Ford's facial performance onto a digitised version of his face, according to the film's production notes.

The film's locations include New York, Tangier and Greece. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny was also filmed on location in Morocco, Sicily, Scotland, and England, in addition to stages at Pinewood Studios just outside of central London.

Mikkelsen says the day of Ford's last take as Indiana for the film was an emotional one.

"His last scene, his last take, 42 years as Indiana Jones — was this moment where he is somebody that as humble as he is — he doesn't want any attention. He just wanted to get away from all the applause. But he also wants to stay in that room forever. It's quite touching to watch," Mikkelsen said.

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is closing the Sydney Film Festival on June 18 and will be released in Australian cinemas on June 29.