Harrison Ford is an American film actor and producer. He gained worldwide fame for his starring roles as Han Solo in the original Star Wars trilogy and the title character of the Indiana Jones film series. Ford is also known for his roles as Rick Deckard in Blade Runner, John Book in Witness and Jack Ryan in Patriot Games and Clear and Present Danger. His career has spanned six decades and includes roles in several Hollywood blockbusters, including Apocalypse Now, Presumed Innocent, The Fugitive, Air Force One, and What Lies Beneath. At one point, four of the top six box-office hits of all time included one of his roles. Seven of his films have been inducted into the National Film Registry: American Graffiti, The Conversation, Star Wars, Apocalypse Now, The Empire Strikes Back, Raiders of the Lost Ark and Blade Runner. In 1997, Ford was ranked No. 1 in Empire's "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time" list. As of July 2008, the US domestic box office grosses of Ford's films total over US$3.5 billion, with worldwide grosses surpassing $6 billion, making Ford the 4th highest grossing U.S. domestic box-office star. Ford is the husband of actress Calista Flockhart.
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» All Actor InterviewsHarrison Ford here. You all probably know me from movies such as Star Wars and Indiana Jones. I recently acted as a correspondent for Years of Living Dangerously, a new Showtime docuseries about climate change which airs tomorrow, April 13, at 10 p.m. ET. I’ll be here with Victoria from reddit for the next hour answering your questions.
Proof here and here.
Well, watch Years of Living Dangerously and make it your business to understand the threat of climate change and what each of us can do to help preserve our environments and the potential for nature to preserve the human community. Nature doesn't need people, people need nature. Thanks for this. I enjoyed it.
I live in your old house on Woodrow. Are there any secrets I should know about?
Yes. There's millions of dollars buried in your basement.
What movie quote do you get asked to do the most?
"Get off my plane."
Hello Harrison!
Who would win in a celebrity boxing match: Han Solo or Indiana Jones?
The promoter would win.
Why is nobody asking about Blade Runner?
Do you think Rick Deckard was a replicant or not a replicant?
I think that it's a wonderful storytelling mechanism for that question to be left unanswered.
I love that people are still curious about it.
How did you feel about Star Wars when you first started? How were you approached?
I was approached with the offer of a job, which at that point, was all I wanted to hear. I had helped George Lucas audition other actors for the principle parts, and with no expectation or indication that I might be considered for the part of Han, I was quite surprised when I was offered the part. My principle job at the time was carpentry, I had been under contract as an actor at Columbia and Universal. I had a house at the time I wanted to remodel, a bit of the wreck of a house. I'd invest money in tools but wouldn't have money for materials, so I realized this was another way of putting food on the table. And allowing me to pick and choose from the acting jobs that were being offered at the time.
Were there any injuries / weird occurrences / funny stories on any of the Indiana Jones sets?
Oh, let's see. On the first Indiana Jones movie, I tore an ACL in one of my knees, can't remember which knee, the scene in which I was fighting the big German mechanic on an airplane called a flying wing, I was run over by the landing gear and injured my knee, but I can't remember which one it was. Lots of bumps and injuries along the way.
Funny stories? We were shooting in Tunisia, and the script had a scene in which I fight a swordsman, an expert swordsman, it was meant to be the ultimate duel between sword and whip. And I was suffering from dysentery, really, found it inconvenient to be out of my trailer for more than 10 minutes at a time. We'd done a brief rehearsal of the scene the night before we were meant to shoot it, and both Steve and I realized it would take 2 or 3 days to shoot this. And it was the last thing we were meant to shoot in Tunisia before we left to shoot in England. And the scene before this in the film included a whip fight against 5 bad guys that were trying to kidnap Marian, so I thought it was a bit redundant. I was puzzling how to get out of this 3 days of shooting, so when I got to set I proposed to Steven that we just shoot the son a bitch and Steve said "I was thinking that as well." So he drew his sword, the poor guy was a wonderful British stuntman who had practiced his sword skills for months in order to do this job, and was quite surprised by the idea that we would dispatch him in 5 minutes. But he flourished his sword, I pulled out my gun and shot him, and then we went back to England.
Hey! First I'd like to say when I was younger I use to think Indiana Jones played Han Solo in Star Wars. I was corrected many times but still didn't quite understand as a five year old. My question, what was it like being a part of two of the most iconic film series? Thank you for all your work!
What was it like? It was like being incredibly lucky.
Did you ad lib Han's famous line "I know"?
It's not really an ad lib, it was a suggestion, and movie making's a real collaborative process at its best. You don't ad lib it, you suggest it and then you try something in rehearsal and then you agree. So it was my suggestion, because I thought it was more of a character line than what was written, but the director and Carrie and I all thought it was a good idea at the time so we did it.
Harrison, are you still freaked out by David Blaine's card trick?
Yes, he's a spooky guy. I mean, obviously he's a great manipulator of both objects and people, and he's very talented, and I really enjoyed what he does.
Are you still mad at Lando?
Lando who?
How do you feel about snakes?
I actually like snakes! When I was young, I was a boy scout nature camp counselor, and one of our projects was collecting snakes and creating an environment for them, so I'm quite familiar with snakes and think they'r fantastic creatures.
If you and Mark Hamill fought who would win?
Me, of course.
Can you elaborate on what happened between you and Chewbacca that lead to you having a falling out?
Ha. Well that was a skit for Kimmel, I think. With his writers, the idea behind it was that Chewbacca had borrowed my fictional wife.
Harrison, Blade Runner is my favorite movie of all time. What are you thoughts on Ridley Scott's talk of making a sequel? How can he improve upon perfection?
I'm quite curious and excited about seeing a new script for Blade Runner if in fact the opportunity would exist to do another, if it's a good script I would be very anxious to work with Ridley Scott again, he's a very talented and passionate filmmaker. And I think it would be very interesting to revisit the character.
Did you keep any props from any of your movies, if so which ones are your favorite?
No, I don't keep any, I'm not terribly nostalgic and I don't have a lot of things from my movies. And certainly don't have a lot of them around my house. Those are separate worlds for me.
Hey Harrison! I have learned that you are involved in Years of Living Dangerously JUST NOW from James Cameron AMA, and found out that was the reason of your visit to Indonesia. As an Indonesian, thank you for caring about the disastrous environmental problem in our country!
I have some questions regarding your visit:
What shocked you the most regarding the facts of environmental problems in Indonesia? How devastating was the general condition?
You had an interview session with Indonesian Minister of Forestry, and he was ridiculously "offended" by your questions, saying that you were emotionally charged and even threatened to deport you. What was your first thought upon hearing the news? Could you share some details on the matter itself?
Is there any unforgettable experience on your visit? Did you try any Indonesian local food?
Did you keep the money from Fallon and Conan for realz?
Sorry for the loaded question! And thank you again for visiting Indonesia!
Ain't no one can deport Han fuckin' Solo
EDIT : WOW THANKS FOR THE GOLD PEOPLE! I'mma jerk off to this one-time fame for days.
But seriously, thank you!
I wasn't shocked by the situation in Indonesia, I've been involved with an organization called Conservation International for more than 20 years, and our mission has always been to try to preserve what we call the "natural capital' of nature, because of its importance for human well-being. I was quite familiar with the issues of deforestation and the fact that some of the world's most important standing flourishing forests were concentrated in the tropical belt around the equator, and many of these countries are rapidly developing like Indonesia, in which the kind of problems we talk about in Years of Living Dangerously are not untypical.
Well, the opportunity to speak to the minister of Forestry was important and critical in the telling of the story of why deforestation continues at the rate that it does in Indonesia. And it represents a threat not only to the worldwide environment, but to the stability and quality of life for people in Indonesia. And although the government, which is a coalition government, the president had made efforts to preserve the standing forests through a number of different mechanisms, I think that the forestry minister was more interested in granting concessions for extractive industries in these forests which threaten their valuable utility in sequestering carbon. And mitigating against greenhouse gas emissions. Indonesia is the 3rd largest producer of greenhouse gasses, after the United States and China. And the president had committed to a policy that would have reduced those emissions. And it seems as though that the Minister of Forestry- there were mechanisms in place to allow forests to be preserved for their environmental value, and he was thwarting that process. Also, there are questions of inequity and corruption. And it's not unique to Indonesia, we have a lot of problems in our own governments, but it really was an opportunity to get some straight answers from somebody who was responsible for a big part of the potential for doing good and seemed not to be interested in using his authority and office to protect the environment but instead was enabling the devastation and destruction of a great resource in his country. So I was frustrated by his answers. Now the threat to deport me came from another politician, who I believe was just taking advantage of access to the media, but that was not a serious reality, there was no actual threat to deport me.
Oh yea I loved indonesian food! The whole experience was fantastic. It was really a vibrant and curious place, I loved the opportunity to be there and to see and experience the culture. And to get to know some remarkable indonesian people.
Oh, I think it was Conan. Conan gave me $1000 to tell him something and in fact it was real. I remember that I put it in my pocket, and nobody remembered to get it back from me and I forgot all about it until the next day, when by coincidence I was at a neighbor's house and I ran into the producer from the Conan show and I excused myself from the party and went back to the house and got the $1000 out of the suit which I just remembered was still there, and I gave it back to him.
What made you say yes to starring in Expendables 3?
I was on my way to Indonesia to do Years of Living Dangerously, and halfway around the world. And the location for Expendables was right on the way, and they asked me for a relatively short period of time, and it seemed like fun. I hadn't seen the films but I looked one of them and i thought it was kind of funny, so I thought why not?
Mr. Ford, would you share any of your favorite helicopter rescue stories?
You know, anything that I was involved in with picking people up in a helicopter, I was one of a group of people working with Wyoming on search and rescue. And they were always team efforts, and it was always embarrassing to be singled out and given credit for a rescue or any help I was able to give because it was always a team effort.
What's the best and what's the worst set you've ever been on?
The set for Blade Runner was maybe the hardest set I've ever worked on because I think we worked 50 nights in a row, and it was always raining.
Hi Harrison. I'm Dharsono's sister. We've actually met. I just want to say thank you for all your effort and help with my brother's project. We are all very proud of him and what he's achieved. Without a doubt you have helped immensely. Any plan to return to Indonesia?
I don't have any current plan to return to Indonesia, but I was delighted to bring Dharsono's project to attention and I'm quite happy that we were able to be of some small aid in what he's doing, it's a valuable and important project and I wish him the best.
What is your favourite type of cheese?
Manchego.
when did you join Anchorman and what was it like on the anchorman set?
It was goofy. I hadn't seen Anchorman, it was only one day's work, and I knew that it was very popular, and I admired the talents of the people involved, so I went to do it and had a great time, I enjoyed it. I still haven't seen it though.
Hi Harrison! How do you choose your projects? And has this process changed for you since 1980s?
You know, it's very hard to say what the motivation is these days. Most of the time I love the material, have the time free, and look for something different to do. I look for people I enjoy working with, I look for material that i think will make a film that people will go to. It's my job.
Who did you prefer portraying, Han or Indiana?
I think Indiana Jones was a lot of fun to do because of the places we went to and the adventures and the action. But Han Solo was also a huge part of my life.
How do you spend your free time?
I spend my free time at home, and with my children whom I love to spend time with.
Is it true you have an ant or a spider named after yourself?
Yes, I think an ant was named after me by Dr. Wilson. We spoke about him earlier. And they offered to name a butterfly after me, and I thought that would be better that it be named after my daughter, Georgia.
What was your favorite Indiana Jones movie?
I don't have favorites. I just love the work, and I'm glad that the films were so well-received. But I don't really have favorites.
what drew you to Cowboys & Aliens?
Oh, I always liked cowboy movies, and there aren't a lot of 'em being done anymore. So I loved scifi in the beautiful desert.
I know from your bio that you were a carpenter before being discovered, and that you portrayed someone with better than average woodworking skills in Witness. Do you still enjoy woodworking, or do you not have the time?
I don't really have the time anymore. It's a skill that you have to really practice. But the notion that I was a carpenter before I was discovered, when I came to California to be an actor, that's what I wanted to do, if I grew up, when I grew up. And I had some good luck and worked as an actor for many years before I became a carpenter.
How do you stay in shape?
By trying to eat well and I love to play tennis. I play tennis as often as I can.
Thank you for doing the AMA. If you could go back in time and play any role in any movie, what role would you choose?
You know one of the great things about being an actor is that you don't very often go back. For me, the pleasure of it is new characters and new challenges.
Hey Harrison,
Huge fan of all your work, I was wondering what was your most enjoyable skill that you learned for a specific role and which role was it? And how did you go about learning it?
Well, I don't know that I've learned any real skill, but what I love about acting is learning about different lives, so when you play a policeman, you will often spend some time with policemen that can help you understand them and what goes on in the real life of a policeman, same with a doctor, a surgeon, a scientist, a secret agent, so you get to learn something about different people's lives every time. Research is very important to me.