1964–1976: Early work In 1964, after a season of
summer stock with the
Belfry Players in Wisconsin, Ford traveled to Los Angeles and eventually signed a contract with
Columbia Pictures' new talent program. His first known role was an uncredited one as a bellhop in
Dead Heat on a Merry-Go-Round (1966). There is little record of his non-speaking (or "
extra") roles in film. Ford was at the bottom of the hiring list, having offended producer
Jerry Tokofsky. According to one anecdote, Tokofsky told Ford that when actor
Tony Curtis delivered a bag of groceries, he could tell that Curtis was a movie star whereas Ford was not; Ford immediately retorted that if Curtis was truly a talented actor, he would have delivered them like a bellhop. Ford was apparently fired soon after. In 1970 Ford met
Patricia McQueeney, who would go on to work as his agent and manager. His speaking roles continued next with
Luv (1967), though he was still uncredited. He was finally credited as "Harrison J. Ford" in the 1967
Western film
A Time for Killing, starring
Glenn Ford,
George Hamilton and
Inger Stevens, but the "J" did not stand for anything since he has no middle name. It was added to avoid confusion with
a silent film actor named Harrison Ford, who appeared in more than 80 films between 1915 and 1932 and died in 1957. Ford later said that he was unaware of the existence of the earlier actor until he came upon a star with his own name on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame. Ford soon dropped the "J" and worked for
Universal Studios, playing minor roles in many television series throughout the late 1960s and early 1970s, including
Gunsmoke,
Ironside,
The Virginian,
The F.B.I.,
Love, American Style and
Kung Fu. He appeared in the western
Journey to Shiloh (1968) and had an uncredited, non-speaking role in
Michelangelo Antonioni's 1970 film
Zabriskie Point as an arrested student protester. In 1968, he also worked as a camera operator for one of
the Doors' tours. French filmmaker
Jacques Demy chose Ford for the lead role of his first American film,
Model Shop (1969), but the head of Columbia Pictures thought Ford had "no future" in the film business and told Demy to hire a more experienced actor. The part eventually went to
Gary Lockwood. Ford later commented that the experience had been nevertheless a positive one because Demy was the first to show such faith in him. Not happy with the roles offered to him, Ford became a self-taught professional carpenter Casting director and fledgling producer
Fred Roos championed the young Ford and secured him an audition with
George Lucas for the role of Bob Falfa, which Ford went on to play in
American Graffiti (1973).
Star Wars became one of the most successful and groundbreaking films of all time and brought Ford and his co-stars
Mark Hamill and
Carrie Fisher widespread recognition. Ford began to be cast in bigger roles in films throughout the late 1970s, including
Heroes (1977),
Force 10 from Navarone (1978) and
Hanover Street (1979). He also co-starred alongside
Gene Wilder in the buddy-comedy western
The Frisco Kid (1979), playing a bank robber with a heart of gold. Ford returned to star in the successful
Star Wars sequels
The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and
Return of the Jedi (1983), as well as the
Star Wars Holiday Special (1978). Ford wanted Lucas to
kill off Han Solo at the end of
Return of the Jedi, saying, "That would have given the whole film a bottom," but Lucas refused. Ford's status as a leading actor was solidified with
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), an action-adventure collaboration between Lucas and
Steven Spielberg that gave Ford his second franchise role as the heroic, globe-trotting archaeologist
Indiana Jones. Like
Star Wars, the film was massively successful; it became the highest-grossing film of the year. Both Spielberg and Lucas were hesitant in casting Ford in the beginning according to
Howard Kazanjian in his book ''A Producer's Life''. Lucas's reasons were due to having already worked with him on both
American Graffiti and
Star Wars. Lucas relented after
Tom Selleck was unable to accept, and Spielberg relented for that reason and after considering his performance in
The Empire Strikes Back. Ford went on to reprise the role throughout the rest of the decade in the prequel
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) and the sequel
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989). During the June 1983 filming of
Temple of Doom in London, Ford herniated a disc in his back. The 40-year-old actor was forced to fly back to Los Angeles for surgery and returned six weeks later. on the set of
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom in
Kandy,
Sri Lanka, 1983Following his leading-man success as Indiana Jones, Ford played Rick Deckard in
Ridley Scott's dystopian science-fiction film
Blade Runner (1982). Compared to his experiences on the
Star Wars and
Indiana Jones films, Ford had a difficult time with the production. He recalled to
Vanity Fair, "It was a long slog. I didn't really find it that physically difficult—I thought it was mentally difficult." Ford and Scott also had differing views on the nature of his character, Deckard, that persist decades later. While not initially a success,
Blade Runner became a cult classic and one of Ford's most highly regarded films. Ford proved his versatility throughout the 1980s with dramatic parts in films such as
Witness (1985),
The Mosquito Coast (1986) and
Frantic (1988), as well as the romantic male lead opposite
Melanie Griffith and
Sigourney Weaver in the comedy-drama
Working Girl (1988).
Witness and
The Mosquito Coast allowed Ford to explore his potential as a dramatic actor and both performances were widely acclaimed. Ford later recalled that working with director
Peter Weir on
Witness and
The Mosquito Coast were two of the best experiences of his career. In late 1991, Ford was scheduled to star in an action-historical film titled
Night Ride Down, where he would have portrayed a
Pullman Company executive whose daughter was kidnapped during a labor strike of the 1930s. Paramount Pictures shelved the project, after Ford quit the film over script changes he disagreed with. In the next few years, Ford became the second actor to portray
Jack Ryan in two films of the
film series based on the literary character created by
Tom Clancy:
Patriot Games (1992) and
Clear and Present Danger (1994), both co-starring
Anne Archer and
James Earl Jones. Ford took over the role from
Alec Baldwin, who had played Ryan in
The Hunt for Red October (1990). This led to long-lasting resentment from Baldwin, who said that he had wanted to reprise the role but Ford had negotiated with Paramount behind his back. Ford played leading roles in other action-based thrillers throughout the decade, such as
The Fugitive (1993), ''
The Devil's Own (1997) and Air Force One (1997). For his performance in The Fugitive'', which co-starred
Tommy Lee Jones, Ford received some of the best reviews of his career, including from
Roger Ebert, who concluded that, "Ford is once again the great modern movie everyman. As an actor, nothing he does seems merely for show and in the face of this melodramatic material he deliberately plays down, lays low, gets on with business instead of trying to exploit the drama in meaningless acting flourishes." Ford played more straight dramatic roles in
Presumed Innocent (1990) and
Regarding Henry (1991) and another romantic lead role in
Sabrina (1995), a remake of the classic
1954 film of the same name. Ford established working relationships with many well-regarded directors during this time, including Weir,
Alan J. Pakula,
Mike Nichols,
Phillip Noyce and
Sydney Pollack, collaborating twice with each of them. This was the most lucrative period of Ford's career. From 1977 to 1997, he appeared in 14 films that reached the top 15 in the yearly domestic box-office rankings, 12 of which reached the top ten. Six of the films he appeared in during this time were nominated for the
Academy Award for Best Picture, among other awards:
Star Wars,
Apocalypse Now,
Raiders of the Lost Ark,
Witness,
Working Girl and
The Fugitive.
1998–2014: Established career In the late 1990s, Ford started appearing in several critically derided and commercially disappointing films that failed to match his earlier successes, including
Six Days, Seven Nights (1998),
Random Hearts (1999),
K-19: The Widowmaker (2002),
Hollywood Homicide (2003),
Firewall (2006) and
Extraordinary Measures (2010). One exception was
What Lies Beneath (2000), which grossed over $155million in the United States and $291million worldwide. Ford served as an executive producer on
K-19: The Widowmaker and
Extraordinary Measures, both of which were based on true events. In 2004, Ford declined a chance to star in the thriller
Syriana, later commenting that "I didn't feel strongly enough about the truth of the material and I think I made a mistake." The role went to
George Clooney, who won an Oscar and a Golden Globe for his work. Before that, Ford had passed on a role in another
Stephen Gaghan-written film, that of Robert Wakefield in
Traffic, which went to
Michael Douglas. In 2008, Ford enjoyed success with the release of
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, the first Indiana Jones film in 19 years and another collaboration with Lucas and Spielberg. The film received generally positive reviews and was the second-highest-grossing film worldwide in 2008. Ford later said he would like to star in another sequel "if it didn't take another 20 years to digest." Other 2008 work included
Crossing Over, directed by Wayne Kramer. In the film, Ford plays an ICE/
Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent, working alongside
Ashley Judd and
Ray Liotta. He also narrated a feature documentary film about the
Dalai Lama,
Dalai Lama Renaissance. Ford filmed the medical drama
Extraordinary Measures in 2009 in
Portland, Oregon. Released on January 22, 2010, the film also starred
Brendan Fraser and
Alan Ruck. Also in 2010, he co-starred in the film
Morning Glory, along with
Rachel McAdams,
Diane Keaton and
Patrick Wilson. Although the film was a disappointment at the box office, Ford's performance was well received by critics, some of whom thought it was his best role in years. In July 2011, Ford starred alongside
Daniel Craig and
Olivia Wilde in the science-fiction/western hybrid film
Cowboys & Aliens. To promote the film, he appeared at
San Diego Comic-Con and, apparently surprised by the warm welcome, told the audience, "I just wanted to make a living as an actor. I didn't know about this." Also in 2011, Ford starred in Japanese commercials advertising the video game ''
Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception'' for the
PlayStation 3. in the biopic
42 at the
State Dining Room, April 2013. 2013 began a trend that saw Ford accepting more diverse supporting roles. That year, he co-starred in the corporate espionage thriller
Paranoia with
Liam Hemsworth and
Gary Oldman, whom he had previously worked with in
Air Force One, and also appeared in ''
Ender's Game, 42 and Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues''. Ford's performance as
Branch Rickey in the film
42 was praised by many critics and garnered Ford a nomination as best supporting actor for the
Satellite Awards. Initially,
Brian Helgeland was hesitant to cast Ford, seeking a character actor for the role of Rickey. However, Ford's persistence and dedication to the role, including studying Rickey's life and adopting significant physical transformations, won Helgeland over. Ford's commitment to embodying Rickey involved wearing a fat suit, prosthetics and mastering Rickey's distinctive voice and mannerisms. In 2014, he appeared in
The Expendables 3 and the following year, co-starred with
Blake Lively in the romantic drama
The Age of Adaline to positive reviews.
2015–present: Return to franchise roles and Shrinking Ford reprised the role of Han Solo in the long-awaited Star Wars sequel
Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015), which was highly successful, like its predecessors. During filming on June 11, 2014, Ford suffered what was said to be a fractured ankle when a hydraulic door fell on him. He was airlifted to
John Radcliffe Hospital in
Oxford, England, for treatment. Ford's son
Ben Ford released details on his father's injury, saying that his ankle would likely need a plate and screws and that filming could be altered slightly, with the crew needing to shoot Ford from the waist up for a short time until he recovered. Ford made his return to filming in mid-August, after a two-month layoff as he recovered from his injury. Ford's character was killed off in
The Force Awakens, but it was subsequently announced, via a casting call, that Ford would return in some capacity as Solo in
Episode VIII. In February 2016, when the cast for
Episode VIII was confirmed, it was indicated that Ford would not reprise his role in the film after all. When Ford was asked whether Solo could come back in "some form", he replied, "Anything is possible in space." He eventually made an uncredited appearance as a vision in
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019). On February 26, 2015,
Alcon Entertainment announced Ford would reprise his role as Rick Deckard in
Denis Villeneuve's science fiction sequel film
Blade Runner 2049. The film and Ford's performance, was very well received by critics upon its release in October 2017. Scott Collura of
IGN called it a "deep, rich, smart film that's visually awesome and full of great sci-fi concepts" and Ford's role "a quiet, sort of gut-wrenching interpretation to Deckard and what he must've gone through in the past three decades." The film grossed $259.3million worldwide, short of the estimated $400million that it needed to
break even. In 2019, Ford had his first voice role in an animated film, as a dog named Rooster in
The Secret Life of Pets 2. With filming of a fifth
Indiana Jones film delayed by a year, Ford headlined a big-budget
adaptation of
Jack London's
The Call of the Wild, playing prospector John Thornton. The film was released in February 2020 to a mixed critical reception and its theatrical release was shortened due to the
impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the film industry. In 2022, Ford was cast to star alongside
Helen Mirren in the
Paramount+ western drama series
1923. The two had previously starred together 36 years earlier in
The Mosquito Coast. The series premiered in December 2022 to positive reviews and it is set to run for a total of two seasons. That same year, it was announced that Ford would star in the
Apple TV+ comedy drama series
Shrinking. The series premiered in January 2023 to positive reviews, with Ford receiving praise for his performance. In a 2023 interview with
The Hollywood Reporter, it was revealed that he accepted the roles in both
1923 and
Shrinking despite there not being a script at the time. Ford reprised the role of Indiana Jones in
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023), which he later stated would be his last appearance as the character. The film received generally positive reviews, with many critics highlighting Ford's performance. In February 2025, Ford starred alongside
Anthony Mackie (the new
Captain America) as
Thaddeus Ross in the
Marvel Cinematic Universe film
Captain America: Brave New World, replacing
William Hurt after the latter's death. That same month, he brought attention to an ongoing strike by video game actors when he voiced support for
Troy Baker playing the role of Indiana Jones in the video game
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, speaking out against the use of
artificial intelligence. == Personal life ==