ACTOR · BORN 1942
Harrison Ford
- Born
- 13 July 1942, Chicago, Illinois, USA
- Known for
- Star Wars (1977), Return of the Jedi (1983), Blade Runner (1982), Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)
70 archived facts 7 topics 1 source Last reviewed Nov 2026
Harrison Ford (born 13 July 1942) is an actor best known for Star Wars, Return of the Jedi and Blade Runner.
70 Interesting Facts About Harrison Ford
Interesting Facts (16)
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In March 2003, "The New York Daily News" cleared up conflicting reports of the actor's stance on Iraq war. The newspaper had said numerous reports found Ford opposing the antiwar letter to President George W. Bush in December 2002 from the celebrity group Artists United to Win Without War. However, speaking through his manager Patricia McQueeney, Ford responded his feelings are "exactly the opposite" of what had been reported. She told the Daily News that Ford was "appalled by the idea" that anyone would think he supports a war with Iraq. "What I'm for is a regime change on both sides," Ford told the Daily News through McQueeney.
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In the original Star Wars trilogy, Carrie Fisher had to stand on a box in most of her scenes with Harrison Ford, because she was about a foot shorter than him and otherwise would not fit in the frame. This practical solution was a simple but effective way of making the pair's on-screen rapport work. Fisher's situation was often a source of jokes on set.
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Harrison Ford broke his wrist on the set of 'Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens' (2015) when a door collapsed. Health and Safety teams launched an investigation after the incident. Despite the injury, Ford resumed filming shortly afterward and once again proved his professionalism.
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Two of Ford's most iconic characters, Han Solo and Indiana Jones, are brutally tortured in Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984), respectively. Both films are the second entries in their series, and these scenes, which push the characters' physical and emotional limits, are etched in viewers' memories.
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Production Story (10)
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He nearly turned down the role of Henry Turner in Regarding Henry (1991) because the main character was a trial lawyer. He had just played one in Presumed Innocent (1990) and was afraid of being typecast. He took the role when he realized that Henry would only be functioning as a lawyer for the first ten minutes of the film.
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His two most famous roles were actually not written for him. He became attached to Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977) when he was reading lines with other actors during their screen tests. When it came time to cast Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), George Lucas was adamant about not casting Ford because he did not want every movie he made to be a "Harrison Ford movie". However, after Tom Selleck backed out, Steven Spielberg suggested Ford again, and Lucas gave in.
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He had a role as the school principal in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) who reprimands Elliott about the dangers of alcohol. The scene was cut because director Steven Spielberg felt that Ford's presence would break the flow of the film. The only footage known to exist appeared in The E.T. Storybook released at the same time as the film.
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He first worked with George Lucas on American Graffiti (1973). Lucas originally decided he would not use any of the cast of American Graffiti on Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977), but changed his mind after asking Harrison to read for an audition, just so he would have the same number of actors reading for Han as were reading for Luke and Leia. He was later Steven Spielberg's first choice for the role of Indiana Jones, but Lucas initially resisted, saying that, having made two films with him already, he did not want Ford to "become my Robert De Niro", referring to Martin Scorsese's use of him in several films.
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He nearly turned down the role of Henry Turner in Regarding Henry (1991) because the main character was a trial lawyer. He had just played one in Presumed Innocent (1990), and was afraid of being typecast. He took the role when he realized that Henry would only be functioning as a lawyer for the first ten minutes of the film.
Behind the Scenes (13)
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In assembling the 2007 "Final Cut" version of Blade Runner (1982), the scene in which Deckard is speaking with the snake dealer, Abdul Ben Hassan, was digitally altered so that Ford's lip movements matched the altered dialog. Since he was unavailable due to scheduling issues, his son Ben Ford, being about the same age as his father had been when filming the movie, was shot on an effects stage after being made up with his father's chin scar.
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He tore a ligament in his knee while filming the special shoot trailer for The Fugitive (1993), in which he took the lead role after Alec Baldwin backed out, as had happened with Patriot Games (1992). During the film's PR campaign, he complained that he had made it through the entire shoot unscathed, only to injure himself shooting a trailer for the movie after production was finished.
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He suffered a back injury while filming Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) and underwent an experimental disc operation, at the time, utilizing a papaya enzyme. While he was away, Steven Spielberg filmed around him as best he could, including most of the conveyor belt scene, using Vic Armstrong, a British-born stuntman who looked so much like Ford that members of the crew were always confusing the two. Ford resumed doing his own stunts upon his return, and his close-ups were added later into the finished film.
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He is credited with "creating" what many believe to be the best scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) because he was suffering from a bout of dysentery at the time of filming: during the scene in Cairo with the swordsman in black, the script called for a much longer fight, but because of his condition, he quietly asked director Steven Spielberg if they could shorten the scene. Spielberg's reply was that the only way it could be done would be if Indy pulled out his gun and "just shot the guy". The rest of the crew, not aware of the change, laughed at this, and it remained in the final cut.
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Spoiler: In the carbonite scene in 'Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back' (1980), Harrison Ford suggested responding to Carrie Fisher's line 'I love you' with 'I know' instead of 'I love you too'. The improvisation perfectly captured Han Solo's cool and cocky manner and became one of the most memorable lines in cinema history.
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Until 1970, Harrison Ford was billed as 'Harrison J. Ford' so as not to be confused with the silent film actor Harrison Ford. However, he did not actually have a middle name; the letter 'J' was added later to avoid confusion. This was a practical measure Ford took to resolve the identity confusion early in his career.
Characters & Cast (6)
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Harrison Ford replaced Kevin Costner in 'Air Force One' (1997). Costner had to turn down the role because of the shooting schedule for 'The Postman' (1997) and recommended Ford. Ford's portrayal of the president won great praise from both critics and audiences, and the film achieved significant box office success.
Easter Eggs & References (2)
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He has a scar on his chin which he got in 1968 when he tried to buckle up while already driving and lost control of the car. The scar has been explained in two of his films: in the River Phoenix introductory sequence in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989), an inexperienced young Indy hits himself in the chin the first time he tries to use the whip; and in Working Girl (1988), he first says that he got the scar in a knife fight, then admits that the true story is that he knocked his chin on a toilet after fainting during an ear-piercing.
Career & Awards (13)
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In 2003, he accepted the Oscar for "Best Director" on behalf of Roman Polanski, who was not present at the awards ceremony, being a fugitive from United States justice since fleeing the country in 1978. Ford personally delivered the Oscar statuette to Polanski a few months after the ceremony. He went to Paris, where Polanski was living at the time, the same location both worked on years earlier in Frantic (1988).
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He had no formal training as a carpenter. He borrowed books on carpentry from the library, studied them and then practiced in an empty house before he got good enough at this that this became his primary job before becoming a major Hollywood actor. He found he enjoyed carpentry so much that he kept this as a hobby.
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He has named Gregory Peck and Gary Cooper as his favorite actors. Two of his favorite movies are the anti-McCarthyism western High Noon (1952), for which Cooper won his second Oscar, and the civil rights drama To Kill a Mockingbird (1962), for which Peck won his only Oscar.
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Harrison Ford recommended River Phoenix to play young Indiana Jones in 'Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade' (1989). The two had previously played father and son in the 1986 film 'The Mosquito Coast', an experience that reinforced Ford's confidence in Phoenix's talent. The recommendation became an important turning point in Phoenix's career and proved the young actor's ability to a wide audience.
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Over his career, Harrison Ford has played two different fictional Presidents of the United States. He appeared as President James Marshall in Air Force One (1997). In Patriot Games (1992) and Clear and Present Danger (1994), based on Tom Clancy's novels, he played Jack Ryan; although Ryan is not president in those films, in Clancy's series Ryan is first appointed Vice President and later moves into the Oval Office after the president's death.
Life & Family (10)
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On 22 August 1987, Ford was traveling with Clint Eastwood and Sondra Locke aboard a Gulfstream III when it developed an engine fire and stuck landing gear while inbound from Paris and was forced to land in Bangor, Maine. The charter company owning the G-3 sent another jet and mechanics to Bangor, and the group flew out on that plane the next day.
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Before his film career ever took off, Ford worked as a carpenter, and at one point was a personal DIY/handyman to spouses John Gregory Dunne and Joan Didion. He developed such a close bond with the Dunnes that Didion would send him autographed first editions of her books as Christmas gifts and even occasionally lend him her beloved 1969 Corvette Stingray.
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Witness (1985) was his first role that broke him away from the science fiction and fantasy genres that made him famous. However, this does still have a connection to his breakthrough role of Han Solo. One of the cast members was Robert Earl Jones, whose son, James Earl Jones, was the voice of Darth Vader. He also worked with Ford in Patriot Games (1992) and Clear and Present Danger (1994).
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In the 2007 Final Cut version of Blade Runner (1982), the scene in which Deckard speaks with the snake dealer Abdul Ben Hassan was digitally altered. The change was intended to make Ford's lip movements match new dialogue. Because Ford could not take part in the shoot due to his schedule, his son Ben Ford was filmed at the effects studio made up to resemble his father's appearance in the film; Ben Ford being the same age as his father had been made the transition easier.
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- 42 — Harrison Ford comes up in the facts on that page
- Runaway Bride — Harrison Ford comes up in the facts on that page
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