Harrison Ford was born on the 13th of July 1942 at the Swedish Covenant Hospital in Chicago, Illinois, into a family where his father was a Catholic of Irish descent and his mother was an Ashkenazi Jew from Minsk, Belarus. He grew up as a Boy Scout who achieved the rank of Life Scout and worked as a counselor at the Napowan Adventure Base Scout Camp, a background that would later inspire the character of young Indiana Jones. Despite graduating from Maine East High School in 1960 and attending Ripon College as a philosophy major, Ford was expelled for plagiarism just four days before his graduation. He did not immediately find success in acting; instead, he spent years working as a carpenter to support his first wife and two young sons. This trade brought him into the homes of writers like Joan Didion and John Gregory Dunne, who lived on the beach at Malibu. It was through this carpentry work that he met casting director Fred Roos, who eventually secured him an audition with George Lucas for the role of Bob Falfa in American Graffiti. That small role in 1973 was the catalyst that transformed him from a struggling carpenter into a global movie star, proving that his time in the carpentry shop was not wasted but rather a necessary apprenticeship for his future in Hollywood.
The Reluctant Hero of the Galaxy
George Lucas originally hired Ford to read lines for actors auditioning for the role of Han Solo in Star Wars, but Ford's performance during these line reads convinced Lucas to cast him as the smuggler. The film, released in 1977, became one of the most successful and groundbreaking films of all time, bringing Ford, Mark Hamill, and Carrie Fisher widespread recognition. Ford's portrayal of Han Solo was so iconic that he reprised the role in five films spanning four decades, including The Empire Strikes Back in 1980 and Return of the Jedi in 1983. Interestingly, Ford had wanted Lucas to kill off Han Solo at the end of Return of the Jedi, arguing that it would have given the film a bottom, but Lucas refused. His career continued to expand with roles in Heroes in 1977, Force 10 from Navarone in 1978, and Hanover Street in 1979. He also co-starred alongside Gene Wilder in The Frisco Kid in 1979, playing a bank robber with a heart of gold. The success of Star Wars and the subsequent Indiana Jones franchise established Ford as one of Hollywood's most bankable stars from the late 1970s into the early 2000s, with his work in American Graffiti, Star Wars, and The Conversation laying the groundwork for his legendary status.The Archaeologist and the Blade Runner
Ford's status as a leading actor was solidified with Raiders of the Lost Ark in 1981, an action-adventure collaboration between Lucas and Steven Spielberg that gave him his second franchise role as the heroic, globe-trotting archaeologist Indiana Jones. The film became the highest-grossing film of the year, and Ford went on to reprise the role throughout the rest of the decade in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom in 1984 and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade in 1989. During the filming of Temple of Doom in London in June 1983, Ford herniated a disc in his back, forcing him to fly back to Los Angeles for surgery and return six weeks later. Following his leading-man success, Ford played Rick Deckard in Ridley Scott's dystopian science-fiction film Blade Runner in 1982. Compared to his experiences on the Star Wars and Indiana Jones films, Ford had a difficult time with the production, recalling that it was mentally difficult rather than physically difficult. He and Scott 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. His versatility throughout the 1980s was further proven with dramatic parts in Witness in 1985, The Mosquito Coast in 1986, and Frantic in 1988, as well as the romantic male lead opposite Melanie Griffith and Sigourney Weaver in Working Girl in 1988.The Dramatic Turn and the Fugitive
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 in 1998, Random Hearts in 1999, K-19: The Widowmaker in 2002, Hollywood Homicide in 2003, Firewall in 2006, and Extraordinary Measures in 2010. One exception was What Lies Beneath in 2000, which grossed over $155 million in the United States and $291 million 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 he did not feel strongly enough about the truth of the material and thought he 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.The Pilot and the Environmentalist
Ford is a licensed pilot of both fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters, and on several occasions, he has provided emergency helicopter services at the request of local authorities in Wyoming. In 2000, he airlifted an EMT to a 20-year-old hiker who was suffering from dehydration on Table Mountain. The following year, he was flagged down in his helicopter by a 13-year-old Boy Scout who got lost near Yellowstone National Park. Ford began flight training in the 1960s at Wild Rose Idlewild Airport in Wild Rose, Wisconsin, flying in a Piper PA-22 Tri-Pacer, but at $15 an hour, he could not afford to continue the training. In the mid-1990s, he bought a used Gulfstream II and asked one of his pilots, Terry Bender, to give him flying lessons. They started flying a Cessna 182 Skylane out of Jackson, Wyoming, later switching to Teterboro Airport in Teterboro, New Jersey, flying a Cessna 206 in which he made his first solo flight. Ford's aircraft are kept at Santa Monica Airport, and his Bell 407 helicopter is often hangered at Jackson and has been used by Ford in two mountain rescues during his assigned duty time with Teton County Search and Rescue. During one of the rescues, Ford recovered a lost and disoriented hiker who boarded his helicopter and promptly vomited into one of the rescuers' caps, unaware of who the pilot was until much later. Ford flies his de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver more than any of his other aircraft, and has repeatedly said that he likes this aircraft and the sound of its Pratt & Whitney R-985 radial engine. According to Ford, it had been flown in the CIA's Air America operations and was riddled with bullet holes that had to be patched up.The Political Voice and the Legacy
Like his parents, Ford is a lifelong Democrat. On the 7th of September 1995, Ford testified before the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee in support of the Dalai Lama and an independent Tibet. In 2007, he narrated the documentary Dalai Lama Renaissance. In 2000, Ford donated $1,000 to the presidential campaigns of Bill Bradley, Al Gore, and John McCain. In 2003, he publicly condemned the Iraq War and called for regime change in the United States. He also criticized Hollywood for making movies which were more akin to video games than stories about human life and relationships, and he called for more gun control in the United States. In 2009, Ford signed a petition calling for the release of film director Roman Polanski, who had been arrested in Switzerland in relation to his 1977 charge for drugging and raping a 13-year-old girl. After Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said his favorite role of Ford's was Air Force One because he stood up for America, Ford responded that it was just a film and made critical statements against Trump's presidential bid. Ford endorsed Joe Biden's 2020 presidential campaign against Trump. He said that he wanted to encourage people to support candidates that will support the environment and felt that under Trump, the U.S. had lost some of our credibility in the world. Along with Mark Hamill, Ford worked with the anti-Trump Republican group The Lincoln Project to produce and narrate a 2020 election ad attacking Trump's disparaging of Anthony Fauci. On the 2nd of November 2024, he endorsed Kamala Harris's 2024 presidential campaign.The Final Frontier and the Modern Era
Ford reprised the role of Han Solo in the long-awaited Star Wars sequel Star Wars: The Force Awakens in 2015, which was highly successful, like its predecessors. During filming on the 11th of June 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 in 2019. On the 26th of February 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 $259.3 million worldwide, short of the estimated $400 million 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.The Carpenter's Final Act
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. For his work in the series, Ford was nominated for several awards including a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor, a Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series, his first Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series, and his first Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. Ford reprised the role of Indiana Jones in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny in 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 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. Ford has been married three times and has four biological children and one adopted child. He was first married to Mary Marquardt from 1964 until their divorce in 1979. They had two sons, born in 1966 and 1969. The older son co-owns Ford's Filling Station, a gastropub located at Terminal 5 in Los Angeles International Airport. The younger son is owner of the Ludwig Clothing company and previously owned Strong Sports Gym and the Kim Sing Theater. Ford's second marriage was to screenwriter Melissa Mathison from March 1983 until their separation in 2000; they divorced in 2004. They had a son, born in 1987, and a daughter, born in 1990. Mathison died in 2015. Ford began dating actress Calista Flockhart after they met at the 2002 Golden Globe Awards. He proposed to Flockhart over Valentine's Day weekend in 2009. They married on the 15th of June 2010, in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where Ford was filming Cowboys & Aliens. They are the parents of a son, born in 2001, whom Flockhart had adopted before meeting Ford. Ford and Flockhart live on an ranch in Jackson, Wyoming, where he has lived since the 1980s and approximately half of which he has donated as a nature reserve. They retain a base in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles. Ford is one of Hollywood's most private actors, guarding much of his personal life. Although Ford's fans have speculated that he has social anxiety disorder, he said in 2023 that he instead has an abhorrence of boring situations.Harrison Ford was born on the 13th of July 1942 at the Swedish Covenant Hospital in Chicago, Illinois, into a family where his father was a Catholic of Irish descent and his mother was an Ashkenazi Jew from Minsk, Belarus. He grew up as a Boy Scout who achieved the rank of Life Scout and worked as a counselor at the Napowan Adventure Base Scout Camp, a background that would later inspire the character of young Indiana Jones. Despite graduating from Maine East High School in 1960 and attending Ripon College as a philosophy major, Ford was expelled for plagiarism just four days before his graduation. He did not immediately find success in acting; instead, he spent years working as a carpenter to support his first wife and two young sons. This trade brought him into the homes of writers like Joan Didion and John Gregory Dunne, who lived on the beach at Malibu. It was through this carpentry work that he met casting director Fred Roos, who eventually secured him an audition with George Lucas for the role of Bob Falfa in American Graffiti. That small role in 1973 was the catalyst that transformed him from a struggling carpenter into a global movie star, proving that his time in the carpentry shop was not wasted but rather a necessary apprenticeship for his future in Hollywood.
The Reluctant Hero of the Galaxy
George Lucas originally hired Ford to read lines for actors auditioning for the role of Han Solo in Star Wars, but Ford's performance during these line reads convinced Lucas to cast him as the smuggler. The film, released in 1977, became one of the most successful and groundbreaking films of all time, bringing Ford, Mark Hamill, and Carrie Fisher widespread recognition. Ford's portrayal of Han Solo was so iconic that he reprised the role in five films spanning four decades, including The Empire Strikes Back in 1980 and Return of the Jedi in 1983. Interestingly, Ford had wanted Lucas to kill off Han Solo at the end of Return of the Jedi, arguing that it would have given the film a bottom, but Lucas refused. His career continued to expand with roles in Heroes in 1977, Force 10 from Navarone in 1978, and Hanover Street in 1979. He also co-starred alongside Gene Wilder in The Frisco Kid in 1979, playing a bank robber with a heart of gold. The success of Star Wars and the subsequent Indiana Jones franchise established Ford as one of Hollywood's most bankable stars from the late 1970s into the early 2000s, with his work in American Graffiti, Star Wars, and The Conversation laying the groundwork for his legendary status.
The Archaeologist and the Blade Runner
Ford's status as a leading actor was solidified with Raiders of the Lost Ark in 1981, an action-adventure collaboration between Lucas and Steven Spielberg that gave him his second franchise role as the heroic, globe-trotting archaeologist Indiana Jones. The film became the highest-grossing film of the year, and Ford went on to reprise the role throughout the rest of the decade in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom in 1984 and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade in 1989. During the filming of Temple of Doom in London in June 1983, Ford herniated a disc in his back, forcing him to fly back to Los Angeles for surgery and return six weeks later. Following his leading-man success, Ford played Rick Deckard in Ridley Scott's dystopian science-fiction film Blade Runner in 1982. Compared to his experiences on the Star Wars and Indiana Jones films, Ford had a difficult time with the production, recalling that it was mentally difficult rather than physically difficult. He and Scott 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. His versatility throughout the 1980s was further proven with dramatic parts in Witness in 1985, The Mosquito Coast in 1986, and Frantic in 1988, as well as the romantic male lead opposite Melanie Griffith and Sigourney Weaver in Working Girl in 1988.
The Dramatic Turn and the Fugitive
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 in 1998, Random Hearts in 1999, K-19: The Widowmaker in 2002, Hollywood Homicide in 2003, Firewall in 2006, and Extraordinary Measures in 2010. One exception was What Lies Beneath in 2000, which grossed over $155 million in the United States and $291 million 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 he did not feel strongly enough about the truth of the material and thought he 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.
The Pilot and the Environmentalist
Ford is a licensed pilot of both fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters, and on several occasions, he has provided emergency helicopter services at the request of local authorities in Wyoming. In 2000, he airlifted an EMT to a 20-year-old hiker who was suffering from dehydration on Table Mountain. The following year, he was flagged down in his helicopter by a 13-year-old Boy Scout who got lost near Yellowstone National Park. Ford began flight training in the 1960s at Wild Rose Idlewild Airport in Wild Rose, Wisconsin, flying in a Piper PA-22 Tri-Pacer, but at $15 an hour, he could not afford to continue the training. In the mid-1990s, he bought a used Gulfstream II and asked one of his pilots, Terry Bender, to give him flying lessons. They started flying a Cessna 182 Skylane out of Jackson, Wyoming, later switching to Teterboro Airport in Teterboro, New Jersey, flying a Cessna 206 in which he made his first solo flight. Ford's aircraft are kept at Santa Monica Airport, and his Bell 407 helicopter is often hangered at Jackson and has been used by Ford in two mountain rescues during his assigned duty time with Teton County Search and Rescue. During one of the rescues, Ford recovered a lost and disoriented hiker who boarded his helicopter and promptly vomited into one of the rescuers' caps, unaware of who the pilot was until much later. Ford flies his de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver more than any of his other aircraft, and has repeatedly said that he likes this aircraft and the sound of its Pratt & Whitney R-985 radial engine. According to Ford, it had been flown in the CIA's Air America operations and was riddled with bullet holes that had to be patched up.
The Political Voice and the Legacy
Like his parents, Ford is a lifelong Democrat. On the 7th of September 1995, Ford testified before the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee in support of the Dalai Lama and an independent Tibet. In 2007, he narrated the documentary Dalai Lama Renaissance. In 2000, Ford donated $1,000 to the presidential campaigns of Bill Bradley, Al Gore, and John McCain. In 2003, he publicly condemned the Iraq War and called for regime change in the United States. He also criticized Hollywood for making movies which were more akin to video games than stories about human life and relationships, and he called for more gun control in the United States. In 2009, Ford signed a petition calling for the release of film director Roman Polanski, who had been arrested in Switzerland in relation to his 1977 charge for drugging and raping a 13-year-old girl. After Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said his favorite role of Ford's was Air Force One because he stood up for America, Ford responded that it was just a film and made critical statements against Trump's presidential bid. Ford endorsed Joe Biden's 2020 presidential campaign against Trump. He said that he wanted to encourage people to support candidates that will support the environment and felt that under Trump, the U.S. had lost some of our credibility in the world. Along with Mark Hamill, Ford worked with the anti-Trump Republican group The Lincoln Project to produce and narrate a 2020 election ad attacking Trump's disparaging of Anthony Fauci. On the 2nd of November 2024, he endorsed Kamala Harris's 2024 presidential campaign.
The Final Frontier and the Modern Era
Ford reprised the role of Han Solo in the long-awaited Star Wars sequel Star Wars: The Force Awakens in 2015, which was highly successful, like its predecessors. During filming on the 11th of June 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 in 2019. On the 26th of February 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 $259.3 million worldwide, short of the estimated $400 million 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.
The Carpenter's Final Act
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. For his work in the series, Ford was nominated for several awards including a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor, a Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series, his first Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series, and his first Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. Ford reprised the role of Indiana Jones in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny in 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 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. Ford has been married three times and has four biological children and one adopted child. He was first married to Mary Marquardt from 1964 until their divorce in 1979. They had two sons, born in 1966 and 1969. The older son co-owns Ford's Filling Station, a gastropub located at Terminal 5 in Los Angeles International Airport. The younger son is owner of the Ludwig Clothing company and previously owned Strong Sports Gym and the Kim Sing Theater. Ford's second marriage was to screenwriter Melissa Mathison from March 1983 until their separation in 2000; they divorced in 2004. They had a son, born in 1987, and a daughter, born in 1990. Mathison died in 2015. Ford began dating actress Calista Flockhart after they met at the 2002 Golden Globe Awards. He proposed to Flockhart over Valentine's Day weekend in 2009. They married on the 15th of June 2010, in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where Ford was filming Cowboys & Aliens. They are the parents of a son, born in 2001, whom Flockhart had adopted before meeting Ford. Ford and Flockhart live on an ranch in Jackson, Wyoming, where he has lived since the 1980s and approximately half of which he has donated as a nature reserve. They retain a base in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles. Ford is one of Hollywood's most private actors, guarding much of his personal life. Although Ford's fans have speculated that he has social anxiety disorder, he said in 2023 that he instead has an abhorrence of boring situations.