Harrison Ford (born July 13, 1942)
is an American film actor and
producer. Ford is best known for his
performances as Han Solo in the
original Star Wars trilogy and as the
title character of the Indiana Jones
film series. He 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
four-decade career also includes
roles in several other Hollywood
blockbusters, including Apocalypse
Now, Presumed Innocent, The
Fugitive, Air Force One, and What
Lies Beneath.
Ford was born on July 13, 1942, to
Dorothy (née Dora Nidelman), a
homemaker and former radio actress,
and Christopher Ford (born John
William Ford), an advertising executive
and a former actor. A younger brother,
Terence, was born in 1945. Harrison
Ford's paternal grandparents,
Florence Veronica Niehaus and John
Fitzgerald Ford, were of German and
Irish Catholic descent, respectively.
His maternal grandparents, Anna
Lifschutz and Harry Nidelman, were
Jewish immigrants from Minsk,
Belarus (at that time a part of the
Russian Empire). When asked in
which religion he was raised, Ford
jokingly responded, "Democrat". He
has also said that he feels "Irish as a
person, but I feel Jewish as an actor".
In 1964, Ford travelled to Los Angeles,
California to apply for a job in radio
voice-overs. He did not get it, but stayed
in California and eventually signed a
$150 a week contract with Columbia
Pictures's New Talent program, playing
bit roles in films. His first known part
was an uncredited role as a bellhop in
Dead Heat on a Merry-Go-Round
(1966). There is little record of his nonspeaking roles (or "extra" work) in film.
He returned to acting when George
Lucas, who had hired him to build
cabinets in his home, cast him in a
pivotal supporting role for his film
American Graffiti (1973). His
relationship with Lucas was to have a
profound effect on Ford's career. After
director Francis Ford Coppola's film The
Godfather was a success, he hired Ford
to do expansions of his office and
Harrison was given a small role in his
next two films, The Conversation (1974)
and Apocalypse Now (1979).
Star Wars:
Ford's work as a carpenter
would land him his biggest
role to date. In 1975, George
Lucas hired him to read lines
for actors being cast for
parts in his upcoming space
opera, Star Wars (1977).
However, Lucas was
eventually won over by
Ford's portrayal and decided
to cast him as Han Solo.
Star Wars became the
highest-grossing film in
history and established
Harrison Ford as a
superstar. He went on to star
in the successful Star Wars
sequels, The Empire Strikes
Back (1980) and Return of
the Jedi (1983), as well as
The Star Wars Holiday
Special (1978).
Indiana Jones:
Ford's stardom as a leading man was solidified
when he starred as Indiana Jones in the
Lucas/Spielberg collaboration Raiders of the
Lost Ark (1981). He reprised the role for the
prequel Indiana Jones and the Temple of
Doom (1984), and the sequel Indiana Jones
and the Last Crusade (1989), which turned
Ford himself into a blockbuster phenomenon.
Awards:
Ford received a nomination for the Academy
Award for Best Actor for Witness, for which he
also received "Best Actor" BAFTA and Golden
Globe nominations. He received the Cecil B.
DeMille Award at the 2002 Golden Globe Awards
and on June 2, 2003, he received a star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame. He has received three
additional "Best Actor" Golden Globe
nominations for The Mosquito Coast, The
Fugitive and Sabrina.
In 2006, Ford was awarded the Jules Verne Spirit
of Nature Award for his work in nature and
wildlife preservation. The ceremony took place at
the historic Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles,
California.
Personal life:
Ford is one of Hollywood's most
notoriously private actors, guarding
his personal life. He has two sons
(Benjamin and Willard) with his first
wife, Mary Marquardt, as well as two
children (Malcolm and Georgia) with
his second wife, screenwriter
Melissa Mathison. He is engaged to
Calista Flockhart, and together they
are parents to her adopted son,
Liam. Ford's first grandson, Eliel,
was born in 1993, his first
granddaughter, Giuliana, in 1997
and his second grandson, Ethan, in
2000. Eliel is Willard's son, and
Ethan is Benjamin's son. Benjamin
is also the owner of Ford's Filling
Station, a gastro pub in Culver City,
California.