Everyone knows his face, because he played two of Hollywood’s most famous heroes: Harrison Ford’s roles as Han Solo in “Star Wars” and Indiana Jones in “Raiders of the Lost Ark” have made him one of the most famous cinema stars of all time. With more than 60 films of various genres, he brought in billions. When Ford turns 80 on Wednesday, he can look back on an unexpectedly successful career, because at the beginning of his career he even had to hear that he would “never make it in this business”. It turned out differently.
Harrison Ford was in the right place at the right time
Ford has no pronounced star qualities. Neither looks nor acting skills of the taciturn mime are exceptional. Rather, Ford’s secret of success is that he endured a year-long dry spell in acting and then was in the right place at the right time.
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Harrison Ford was born in Chicago on July 13, 1942. His father, an ex-actor, worked as an advertiser. Ford is a mediocre student. Acting courses at the university give him the idea to try it in the film industry. For years he took on mediocre roles in Hollywood, often not even appearing in the credits.
After ten depressing years in film, Ford begins making money as a carpenter. At a Goldwyn Studios construction site, he meets filmmaker George Lucas, “the source from which my whole career sprang,” as Ford would later say.
George Lucas becomes the door opener for Harrison Ford
In 1973, he played a small role in Lucas’ second film, American Graffiti. Lucas, who has since become friends with Ford, also hooked the actor up with director Francis Ford Coppola, who hired Ford for the thriller The Dialogue (1974) and the anti-war film Apocalypse Now (1979).
When Ford builds a library for Lucas, he imitates the actors who auditioned for Lucas’ space adventure Star Wars. Lucas is amazed: he has found his Han Solo, the cynical space smuggler in the “Star Wars” adventure. As a result, Ford became a world star in 1977 at the age of 35. “It’s a silly movie, but it’s beautifully done,” Ford tells the New York Times.
–And it opens up new possibilities for Ford. Steven Spielberg cast him as whip-wielding archaeologist Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981). It is a new type of action hero that also shows weaknesses such as fear of snakes.
Harrison Ford is busy with Star Wars and Indiana Jones
Ford is kept busy with his big roles Han Solo and Indiana Jones alone. He appeared in four other Star Wars films in 1980, 1983, 2015 and 2019. He will make four Indiana Jones films by 2008, and a sequel is due to hit the cinemas next year. Ford also made a sequel to Ridley Scott’s cult film “Blade Runner”: In 2017 “Blade Runner 2049” was released, starring Ford and Ryan Gosling.
He owes his success to the fact that “I’ve made films that are passed down from generation to generation,” said Ford a few years ago. The fact that he likes to make entertaining films is probably one of the reasons why he hardly received any awards. Only once – in 1986 for “The Only Witness” – was he nominated for an Oscar, plus four Golden Globe nominations.
Harrison Ford doesn’t like the hype
Star hype isn’t Ford’s thing. He described the “loss of anonymity” caused by his film successes as a “nightmare”. The father of five children has always tried to seal off his private life as much as possible. With his third wife, actress Calista Flockhart (“Ally McBeal”), he often retreats to his ranch in the mountains of Wyoming.
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At the same time, as in many of his films, Ford is an adventurer. As a hobby pilot, he repeatedly made headlines with his flying accidents. But the actor, with the prominent scar on his chin from an early car accident, has always bounced back from crash landings.
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