To his fans, Ryan Gosling is unforgettable. To Harrison Ford, not so much.

On the first episode of the latest series of The Graham Norton Show  75-year-old Ford forgot his Blade Runner 2049 co-star’s name three times in less than a minute.

So was Ford just having a brain freeze – or did he decide to showcase his acting chops in an informal setting?

Perched on a celeb-packed couch with Gosling, Reese Witherspoon and Margot Robbie, the veteran star was explaining how he got involved in the new sci-fi movie reboot (“They finally came up with a good story”), and that he suggested Gosling would be a good fit for the role of Officer K.

“And as I read it, I read about the character that umm, Ry… Ryan,” said Ford, turning to look at Gosling in the chair next to him to ask, “Ryan?”

Gosling, 36, took it on the chin: “It’s Ryan, yeah.”

Ford repeated the name – “Ryan” – while the live audience laughed.

Then he continued his anecdote.

“I called the producers and I said, ‘This is great, can’t wait to get blah blah blah, and what a great part – why don’t we see if we can get, um …” Ford said, again swivelling to Gosling for confirmation of his name.

“Ryan,” said the La La Land star, trying to stay pokerfaced.

“Ryan,” Ford repeated. “Ryan Gosling.”

“Did you say Rosling?” Gosling asked.

“Gosling,” Ford repeated, before stumbling over the actor’s name one last time. “Ryan, um Ryan, Ryan Gosling.”

Blade Runner 2049 picks up the story 30 years after Ridley Scott’s 1982 cult classic, which starred Ford as Deckard, an android-hunting detective in a dystopian version of Los Angeles.

During the movie’s filming and promotion, Ford has made a sport of using Gosling as a comedy punching bag.

“Mr Gosling, yeah, I thought was odd that he insisted on being called Mr Gosling, but I got over it,” the action movie icon joked to People magazine.

“Mr Gosling is always prepared, has very inventive ideas and he’s very articulate about them. He’s a great pleasure to work with.”

Ford also spoke about accidentally punching Gosling in the face during a fight scene.

“He walked into my fist,” Ford said. “My hand was slightly injured, but I didn’t hold it against him.”

Gosling, who held hands with wife Eva Mendes walking into a Saturday Night Live afterparty in New York early Sunday morning, has also been a genuine straight guy when it comes to talking about working with Ford.

“There might be a hundred ways to play a scene but there is only one great one and Harrison has already figured it out before you even get to set,” said Gosling.

He hinted to News Limited that Ford’s amnesia on Norton was definitely a front.

“Everything is more efficient when he is around because he is so focused and at the same time he still knows how to have fun and enjoy the job,” he said.