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Harrison Ford

Over the course of his career, Harrison Ford has become one of the most popularly acclaimed actors of our time. His body of work includes 43 feature films, 12 of which have exceeded $100 million each at the box office. Through his starring roles in such cinematic blockbusters as the Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises, The Fugitive, Air Force One and Patriot Games, he has come to embody the quintessential American hero for moviegoers around the world.

An Oscar and Golden Globe nominee for his performance in the suspense thriller Witness (1985), Ford also earned Golden Globe nominations for his starring roles in Sabrina (1995), The Fugitive (1993) and The Mosquito Coast (1986). The National Association of Theatre Owners named him Star of the Century in 1994. People picked Ford as The Sexiest Man Alive in 1998, and that same year, he won the People's Choice Award for Favorite Motion Picture Actor. In 1999, he won the People's Choice Award for Favorite All-Time Movie Star and again, in 2000, he was named Favorite Motion Picture Actor. Also in the year 2000, he received the prestigious Life Achievement Award from the American Film Institute. In 2002, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association honored him with the Cecil B. DeMille Award for Lifetime Achievement. Ford was the guest of honor at the 2009 Deauville American Film Festival and was honored with a César Award from the Académie des Arts et Techniques du Cinéma in 2010, for his contribution to film. In November 2010, he was honored at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival with the Kirk Douglas Award for Excellence in Film.

Born in Chicago, Ford attended Ripon College in Wisconsin, before moving to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career. He began as a contract player with Columbia Pictures, making his film debut in the crime drama Dead Heat on a Merry-Go-Round (1966). After playing a small role in Getting Straight (1970), he resolved not to let his career choices be dictated by financial concerns, so he turned to carpentry while he waited for the right role.

In 1973, after a three-year hiatus from the screen, George Lucas cast him in American Graffiti. The next year, he landed a prominent supporting part in Francis Ford Coppola's The Conversation, which was followed by an important role in Stanley Kramer's television production of Judgment: The Court Martial of Lieutenant William Calley.

Ford returned to features in 1977, when Lucas cast him as cocky rebel starship pilot Han Solo in Star Wars, the film that shattered all box-office records and made Ford a household name. He went on to star in Hanover Street (1978) and The Frisco Kid (1979) and had cameo roles in Apocalypse Now (1979) and More American Graffiti (1979), before being cast by Steven Spielberg as intrepid adventurer Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981). The movie also became one of the highest-grossing films of all time.

Between the Star Wars sequels The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983), and the Indiana Jones sequels Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989), Ford starred in a number of other memorable films. In Blade Runner (1982), he delivered a gritty performance as a cop in a nihilistic future Los Angeles. He earned critical acclaim and an Oscar nomination for his role as a cop on the lam, hiding out in Amish country in Witness (1985). Ford followed that with a daring portrayal of an eccentric, idealistic inventor in The Mosquito Coast (1986). He went on to play a Hitchcockian protagonist in Frantic (1988), before showing his flair for romantic comedy in Working Girl (1988).

He has also played a lawyer accused of murder, in Presumed Innocent (1990); an arrogant yuppie transformed by a mugger's bullet, in Regarding Henry (1991); the heroic ex-CIA agent Jack Ryan, in Patriot Games (1992) and in Clear and Present Danger (1994); a doctor wrongly convicted of murdering his wife, in The Fugitive (1993); a deeply committed New York City cop, in The Devil's Own (1997); and President James Marshall, in Air Force One (1997). He also starred in the remake of Sabrina (1995), in the role originated by Humphrey Bogart.

Ford's other credits include the romantic action-comedy Six Days, Seven Nights (1998), the romantic drama Random Hearts (1999) and the thriller What Lies Beneath (2000). In 2002, his film K-19: The Widowmaker, a drama directed by Kathryn Bigelow and also starring Liam Neeson, was released.

June of 2003 saw the release of Hollywood Homicide, which was directed by Ron Shelton and also starred Josh Hartnett. Ford's project Firewall was released in February 2006. In 2007, he completed filming the feature Crossing Over as well as narrating the documentary Dalai Lama Renaissance. The year 2008 saw the release of the much anticipated Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Last year, he was seen in Extraordinary Measures, with Brendan Fraser, and Morning Glory, with Diane Keaton and Rachel McAdams. With his enthusiasm for flying and as an avid pilot, Ford served as chairman of the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) Young Eagles Program (from 2004 to 2009), teaching children about flying. He has flown several hundred children in his de Havilland Beaver plane. In January 2009, he was honored with a Living Legends of Aviation Legacy Award for his commitment to aviation. Ford was also recently honored with the prestigious 2010 Wright Brothers Memorial Trophy.

Strongly committed to environmental concerns, Ford is actively involved in a number of conservation groups. He serves as vice chairman on the board of directors of Conservation International. In Jackson, Wyoming, he has donated 389 acres of his property for a conservation easement to the Jackson Hole Land Trust. He is also an honorary chair of the Indianapolis Prize, the world's leading award for animal conservation.

Ford has participated in numerous public-service announcements with regard to conservation and the environment. In 2006, he narrated Discover Hetch Hetchy, for the Environmental Defense Fund, which looks at restoring the Hetch Hetchy Valley in Yosemite National Park.

His recent awards include the Heart of the City Award from City Harvest, for fighting hunger; an award received at the NRDC Forces for Nature Gala; the Lindbergh Award from the Lindbergh Foundation, for the concept of balance between technology and the environment; the Distinguished Humanitarian Award from B'nai B'rith, for his environmental work; an honorary award from the Taurus World Stunt Awards; and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Laguna Playhouse. On May 30, 2003, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

His other awards include the World Ecology Award from the International Center for Tropical Ecology, and the Global Environmental Citizen Award from the Center for Health and the Global Environment.

In 2006, he received the Independent By Nature Award from the Aspen Filmfest, and the Spirit of Nature Award from the Jules Verne Adventure Film Festival, which honored his work in film as well as his work with regard to environmental issues. Also in 2006, he received the Tower Award for excellence in the arts at the fourth Russian Nights Festival. In 2008, Oceana honored him for his role as an advocate for environmental issues, and in August 2010, he received the National Environmental Hall of Fame Award.


Note: This profile was written in or before 2011.
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Harrison Ford Facts

OccupationActor
BirthdayJuly 13, 1942 (81)
SignCancer
BirthplaceChicago, Illinois, USA
Height6' 1" (1m85)  How tall is Harrison Ford compared to you?
Awards2002 Golden Globe Awards: Cecil B. DeMille Award
1994 MTV Movie Awards: Best On-Screen Duo (for The Fugitive)

Selected Filmography

Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark
Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade
Indiana Jones and The Temple Of Doom
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Star Wars: A New Hope
Star Wars: The Complete Saga
Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back
Star Wars: Return of the Jedi
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