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More Harrison Ford Bios & Profiles

 

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Biography #2 (for Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull)

Harrison Ford returns to the role of Indiana Jones in his latest adventure after having embodied the iconic archaeologist adventurer in the legendary series that began with the blockbuster Raiders of the Lost Ark and continued through Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

In the Indiana Jones series and as cocky rebel starship pilot Han Solo in the original Star Wars trilogy, Ford came to embody the quintessential American hero for moviegoers around the world. His body of work encompasses over 40 feature films – 11 of which have exceeded $100 million at the box office – including such films as The Fugitive, Air Force One and Patriot Games.

An Oscar and Golden Globe nominee for Best Actor for his performance in the acclaimed 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). He was named Star of the Century by The National Association of Theatre Owners in 1994 and Sexiest Man Alive by People Magazine in 1998. He has won three People's Choice Awards and, in 2000, garnered the prestigious Life Achievement Award from the American Film Institute. In 2002, the Golden Globes honored him with the Cecil B. DeMille Award for Lifetime Achievement.

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 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, Ford was cast by George Lucas as drag racer Bob Falfa in the coming-of-age classic 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 Lt. William Calley.

Ford returned to features in 1977 when Lucas cast him again, this time as Han Solo, a renegade starship pilot who becomes a hero by default, in Star Wars – and the rest is history. As the film shattered box office records around the world, Ford's performance came to define a new brand of scrappy hero for generations to come. He went on to star in the World War II era love story Hanover Street (1978) and The Frisco Kid (1979), and had cameo roles in Apocalypse Now (1979) and More American Graffiti (1979) before Steven Spielberg cast him as intrepid adventurer Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981). The movie became another 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 Raiders sequels, Ford starred in a number of other memorable films. In Blade Runner (1982), he delivered a gritty performance as a cop in the nihilistic future of L.A. 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 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 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 more recent credits include the high tech thriller Firewall (2006), the romantic action comedy Six Days Seven Nights (1998), the romantic drama Random Hearts (1999) and the thriller What Lies Beneath (2000). In 2002, he portrayed a Russian submarine captain opposite Liam Neeson in K-19: The Widowmaker, a drama directed by Kathryn Bigelow. June of 2003 saw the release of Hollywood Homicide, which was directed by Ron Shelton and starred Ford along with Josh Hartnett. He will next be seen starring in Wayne Kramer's Crossing Over, with Sean Penn.

Strongly committed to environmental concerns, Ford is actively involved in a number of conservation groups. He serves 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.

His most recent awards are: Heart of the City Award from City Harvest for fighting hunger; NRDC – Forces for Nature; the Lindbergh Foundation for balance between technology and the environment; the Distinguished Humanitarian Award from B'nai B'rith, also for his environmental work; the World Stunt Awards; the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Laguna Playhouse; and on May 30, 2003, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Bio courtesy Paramount for "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" (19-May-2008)


Biography #3 (for Hollywood Homicide)

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 35 feature films, 10 of which have exceeded $100 million each at the box office. Through his starring roles in such cinematic blockbusters as the first three Star Wars and Indiana Jones films, 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. That same year, he won the People's Choice Award as Favorite All Time Movie Star and, again, in 2000 when he was named Favorite Motion Picture Actor. Also in 2000, he received the prestigious Life Achievement Award from the American Film Institute.

In 2002, the Golden Globes honored him with the Cecil B. DeMille Award for Lifetime Achievement.

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 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 Lt. William Calley.

Ford returned to features in 1977 when Lucas cast him as the cocky rebel starship pilot Han Solo in Star Wars. The film shattered all box office records and made Ford a household name. He went on to star in Force 10 From Navarone (1978), 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 became another 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 Raiders of the Los Ark 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 the nihilistic future of L.A. He earned critical acclaim and an Oscar nomination for his role in Witness (1985) as a cop on the lam, hiding out in Amish country. Ford followed that with a daring portrayal of an eccentric idealistic inventor in The Mosquito Coast (1986). He went on to play a Hitchcockian-style protagonist in Frantic (1988) before showing his flair for romantic comedy in Working Girl (1988).

In the last 10 years, Ford has starred in 13 films. He 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 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 most recent credits include the romantic action comedy Six Days, Seven Nights (1998), the romantic drama Random Hearts (1999) and the thriller What Lies Beneath (2000). Most recently he starred in K-19: The Widowmaker, a drama directed by Kathryn Bigelow, co-starring Liam Neeson.

Strongly committed to environmental concerns, Ford is actively involved in a number of conservation groups. He lives in Jackson, Wyoming where he donated 389 acres of his property for a conservation easement to the Jackson Hole Land Trust.

Bio courtesy Columbia Pictures for "Hollywood Homicide" (08-Jun-2003)