Harrison Ford (born July 13, 1942) is an American actor. He has been a leading man in films of several genres and is regarded as an American cultural icon. His films have grossed more than $5.4 billion in North America and more than $9.3 billion worldwide, making him the seventh-highest-grossing actor in North America. He is the recipient of various accolades, including the AFI Life Achievement Award in 2000, the Cecil B. DeMille Award in 2002 and an Honorary César in 2010 in addition to nominations for an Academy Award and four Golden Globe Awards.
Following the initial phase of his career in bit parts and supporting roles, Ford gained worldwide fame for his starring role as Han Solo in the epic space opera film Star Wars (1977), reprising the role in four sequels over the course of the next 42 years. He is also widely known for his portrayal of Indiana Jones in the titular film franchise, beginning with the action-adventure film Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), and for playing other characters in different franchises, most notably Rick Deckard in the dystopian science fiction films Blade Runner (1982) and Blade Runner 2049 (2017) and the Tom Clancy character Jack Ryan in the spy thriller films Patriot Games (1992) and Clear and Present Danger (1994).
His career spans six decades and includes collaborations with some of the most acclaimed and influential filmmakers of his time, such as George Lucas, Francis Ford Coppola, Steven Spielberg, Ridley Scott, Peter Weir, Roman Polanski and Mike Nichols. Ford received his only Academy Award for Best Actor nomination for his role in Witness (1985). He starred in heroic roles in Witness (1985), The Fugitive (1993), Air Force One (1997), Cowboys & Aliens (2011), and 42 (2013) as well as morally complex roles in the films American Graffiti (1973), The Conversation (1974), The Mosquito Coast (1986), Presumed Innocent (1990), and What Lies Beneath (2000). Ford has also starred in the romantic films Heroes (1977), Working Girl (1988), Sabrina (1995), Six Days, Seven Nights (1998), Random Hearts (1999), Morning Glory (2010), and The Age of Adaline (2015).
He is set to appear in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) portraying Thaddeus Ross, a role previously played by the late William Hurt. He is currently stars in the Paramount western series 1923 (2022–present) and the Apple TV comedy series Shrinking (2023). Outside acting, Ford is a licensed pilot who has often assisted the emergency services in rescue missions near his home in Wyoming. He is also a dedicated environmental activist, having served as the inaugural Vice Chair of Conservation International since 1991. He is married to actress Calista Flockhart.
Early life
Harrison Ford was born at the Swedish Covenant Hospital in Chicago, Illinois, on July 13, 1942, to former radio actress Dorothy (née Nidelman) and advertising executive and former actor John William "Christopher" Ford. His younger brother, Terence, was born in 1945. Their father was a Catholic of German and Irish descent, while their mother was an Ashkenazi Jew whose parents were emigrants from Minsk, Belarus, then in the Russian Empire. When asked in which religion he and his brother were raised, Ford jokingly responded "Democrat" and more seriously stated that they were raised to be "liberals of every stripe". When asked about what influence his Jewish and Irish Catholic ancestry may have had on him, he quipped, "As a man I've always felt Irish, as an actor I've always felt Jewish."
Ford was a Boy Scout, achieving the second-highest rank of Life Scout. He worked at Napowan Adventure Base Scout Camp as a counselor for the Reptile Study merit badge. Because of this, he and director Steven Spielberg later decided to depict the young Indiana Jones as a Life Scout in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989). Ford graduated in 1960 from Maine East High School in Park Ridge, Illinois. His voice was the first student voice broadcast on his high school's new radio station, WMTH, and he was its first sportscaster during his senior year. He attended Ripon College in Ripon, Wisconsin, where he was a philosophy major and a member of the Sigma Nu fraternity. A self-described "late bloomer", Ford took a drama class in the final quarter of his senior year to get over his shyness and became fascinated with acting.
