Harrison Ford (born July 13, 1942) is an American actor and producer who, between 1977 and 1983, appeared in what were then the top ten highest-grossing movies of all time.
He is most well-known for his performances as the tough, wisecracking space pilot Han Solo in the Star Wars films, self involved cop Rick Deckard in Blade Runner and its sequel and the droll but tenacious archaeologist/action hero Indiana Jones of Raiders of the Lost Ark and its sequels.
The US box office grosses of all of Ford's films combined totals about $3.18 billion, with worldwide grosses at approximately $5.65 billion.
Biography[]
Harrison Ford was born in Chicago, Illinois. His mother, Dora Nidelman (born 1917 in New Jersey to Harry Nidelman and Anna Lifschutz) was Jewish; his father, Christopher Ford (born November 20, 1906 in New York to John Fitzgerald Ford and Florence Veronica Niehaus; died on February 10, 1999), was Irish/German and a Catholic, as well as a former actor. When asked what religion he was raised, Harrison jokingly responded, “Democrat," though his parents did take him to occasional services.
He graduated from Maine Township High School in Park Ridge, Illinois, 1960 where he claims he was picked on by bullies and ignored by girls. He attended Ripon College in Wisconsin, taking a drama class in his junior year chiefly as a way to meet women. He was expelled after failing a philosophy class his senior year, three days from graduation. He asked his favorite professor, Dr. Tyree (whom he mentions in The Last Crusade), for a letter of recommendation to avoid the draft, but he refused to write it. Since then he has broken contact with Tyree. Once he became famous, Tyree repeatedly tried to make contact again to use Ford's star power to help their small school, but the actor refused.
Ford, a self-described "late bloomer," became fascinated with acting. While in college, toward the end of his freshman year, he was a member of a folk band called The Brothers Gross, in which he played gutbucket. He was a brother of Sigma Nu Fraternity.
He married his college sweetheart, Mary Marquardt, in 1964. The newlyweds moved to Los Angeles, California, where Ford signed a contract with Columbia Pictures for $150 a week in the studio's New Talent program, getting bit parts in three films. He then went to Universal Studios and did minor television roles. Not happy with the acting jobs being offered to him, Ford became a self-taught professional carpenter to better support his wife and two small sons before his break-through role in American Graffiti. Coincidentally, it was his work as a carpenter that would land Ford his biggest role. George Lucas hired Ford in 1975 to build some cabinets in his home and used him to read lines for actors being cast for parts in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. It was Steven Spielberg who first noticed that Ford was perfect for the role of Han Solo.
Filmography[]
| Year | Film | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny | Indiana Jones |
| 2022 | 1923 (TV) | TBA |
| 2022 | Shrinking (TV) | Dr. Phil Rhodes |
| 2020 | The Call of the Wild | John Thornton |
| 2019 | Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker | Han Solo (uncredited) |
| 2019 | The Secret Life of Pets 2 | Rooster (a Welsh Sheepdog) |
| 2017 | Blade Runner 2049 | Rick Deckard |
| 2015 | Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens | Han Solo |
| 2015 | The Age of Adaline | William Jones |
| 2013 | Paranoia | Jack Goddard |
| 2013 | Ender's Game | Hyrum Graff |
| 2013 | 42 | Branch Rickey |
| 2011 | Cowboys and Aliens | Colonel Woodrow Dolarhyde |
| 2010 | Extraordinary Measures | Dr. Robert Stonehill |
| 2010 | Morning Glory | Mike Pomeroy |
| 2009 | Crossing Over | Max Brogan |
| 2008 | Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull | Indiana Jones |
| 2006 | Firewall | Jack Stanfield |
| 2004 | Water To Wine | Jethro (as Jethro the Bus Driver) |
| 2003 | Hollywood Homicide | Joe Gavilan |
| 2002 | K-19: The Widowmaker | Alexei Vostrikov |
| 2000 | What Lies Beneath | Dr. Norman Spencer |
| 1999 | Random Hearts | Sergeant William "Dutch" Van Den Broeck |
| 1998 | Six Days Seven Nights | Quinn Harris |
| 1997 | Air Force One | President James Marshall |
| 1997 | The Devil's Own | Tom O'Meara |
| 1995 | Sabrina | Linus Larrabee |
| 1995 | Les Cent et une nuits | Himself |
| 1994 | Jimmy Hollywood | Himself |
| 1994 | Clear and Present Danger | Jack Ryan |
| 1994 | A Century of Cinema | Himself |
| 1994 | Mustang: The Hidden Kingdom (TV) | Narrator |
| 1993 | Young Indiana Jones and the Mystery of the Blues (TV) | Indiana Jones (age 50) |
| 1993 | The Fugitive | Dr. Richard Kimble |
| 1992 | Commercial Entertainment Product | Himself (uncredited) |
| 1992 | Earth and the American Dream | Narrator |
| 1992 | Patriot Games | Jack Ryan |
| 1992 | Behind the Scenes: Portrait of Pierre Guffroy | Himself |
| 1991 | Regarding Henry | Henry Turner |
| 1990 | Presumed Innocent | Rusty Sabich |
| 1989 | Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade | Indiana Jones |
| 1988 | Working Girl | Jack Trainer |
| 1988 | Frantic | Dr. Richard Walker |
| 1986 | The Mosquito Coast | Allie Fox |
| 1985 | Witness | Detective Captain John Book |
| 1984 | Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom | Indiana Jones |
| 1983 | Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi | Han Solo |
| 1982 | Blade Runner | Rick Deckard |
| 1981 | Raiders of the Lost Ark | Indiana Jones |
| 1980 | Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back | Han Solo |
| 1979 | More American Graffiti | Officer Bob Falfa (uncredited) |
| 1979 | The Frisco Kid | Tommy Lillard |
| 1979 | Apocalypse Now | Colonel Lucas |
| 1979 | Hanover Street | David Halloran |
| 1978 | The Star Wars Holiday Special (TV) | Han Solo |
| 1978 | Force 10 from Navarone | Lieutenant Colonel Mike Barnsby |
| 1977 | Heroes | Ken Boyd |
| 1977 | Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope | Han Solo |
| 1977 | The Possessed (TV) | Paul Winjam |
| 1976 | Dynasty (TV) | Mark Blackwood |
| 1975 | Judgement: The Court Martial of Lt William Calley (TV) | Frank Crowder |
| 1974 | The Conversation | Martin Stett |
| 1973 | American Graffiti | Bob Falfa |
| 1970 | The Intruders (TV) | Carl |
| 1970 | Getting Straight | Jake |
| 1970 | Zabriskie Point | Airport worker (uncredited) |
| 1968 | Journey to Shiloh | Willie Bill Rearden |
| 1967 | A Time for Killing | Lieutenant Shaffer |
| 1967 | Luv | Hippie (uncredited) |
| 1966 | Dead Heat on a Merry-Go-Round | Bellhop |
