Harrison Ford

Harrison Ford is another one of those actors that many fancy at some point, be it by early exposure to Star Wars, Indiana Jones, or both. For me, it was Star Wars. I remember getting the SE boxset for Christmas in 7th grade, and spending the following, flu-addled weekend watching them for the first time while falling in and out of sleep. By the end of The Empire Strikes Back, I was most certainly smitten. He may not be an actor of great range, but he's still a fine dramatic actor, and is in my opinion the best action star of our age.


The Hot List
(1) Is the living definition of "ruggedly handsome".
(2) Has aged very well
(3) Oooooooh, that smirk.
(4) Can't hate him despite the fact that most of his movies since Air Force One sucked.
(5) Dates Calista Flockhart and I still can't hate him (although I could easily imagine him literally snapping her like a toothpick)
(6) The man is just undeniably cool in a DIY sort of way, with the flying and the woodworking and whatnot.

*sneaks off with IMDB bio and trivia while humming Indiana Jones theme*

Height

6' 1" (1.85 m)

Mini biography
His father was Irish, his mother Russian-Jewish. He was a lackluster student at Maine Township High School in Park Ridge Illinois (no athletic star, never above a C average). After dropping out of Ripon College in Wisconsin, where he did some acting and later summer stock, he signed a Hollywood contract with Columbia and later Universal. His roles in movies and TV ( "Ironside" (1967), "Virginian, The" (1962)) remained secondary and, discouraged, he turned to a career in professional carpentry. He came back big four years later, however, as Bob Falfa in American Graffiti (1973). Four years after that he hit colossal with the role of Han Solo in Star Wars (1977). Another four years and Ford was (words fail) Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981). Still another four years and he received Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations for his role as John Book in Witness (1985). All he managed four years after that was his third starring success as Indiana Jones; in fact, many of his earlier successful roles led to sequels as did his more recent portrayal of Jack Ryan in Patriot Games (1992). Another Golden Globe nomination came his way for the part of Dr. Richard Kimble in Fugitive, The (1993). He is clearly a well- established Hollywood superstar. He also maintains an 800-acre ranch in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

Spouse
Melissa Mathison (14 March 1983 - 6 January 2004) (divorced) 2 children
Mary Marquardt -- (18 June 1964 - 1979) (divorced) 2 children

Trivia

In his spare time, as a hobby, is also a master craftsman.Revealed on the David Letterman show that he has some false teeth; 2 were pulled by a dentist after some others were damaged when he fell on a gun during a stunt for a TV appearance early in his career.

Private pilot, single engine fixed wing and helicopter. Owns a Bonanza, Gulfstream IV, DeHavland Beaver, and Bell 407 helicopter. Destroyed first 407 during simulated "engine-out" practice. Regularly flies himself between New York City and Wyoming homes. Has a loft in Tribeca, NYC.

Listed as one of 50 people barred from entering Tibet. Disney clashed with Chinese officials over the film Kundun (1997), which Ford's second wife, Melissa Mathison, wrote. [19 December 1996]

Studied at Ripon College in Ripon, Wisconsin, but left without obtaining a degree.

Considers Mosquito Coast, The (1986) to be his favorite of all the movies in which he has starred.

Lives in a white-painted ranch that he built himself in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

Has a scar on his chin which he got when he tried to "buckle up" while already driving, and lost control of the car.

He was billed as Harrison J. Ford until 1970 for less confusion between him and a silent-screen actor Harrison Ford -- he actually has no middle name.

While in college Ford appeared as Mac the Knife in the musical play, "The Threepenny Opera".

Piloted his helicopter to rescue dehydrated 20 year old hiker Sarah George from Table Mountain near his Jackson Hole, Wyoming ranch. [31 July 2000]

Turned down the romance-action film _Proof Of Life(2000)_ (the 'Russell Crowe' role), the summer-blockbuster _Perfect Storm(2000)_ (the George Clooney role) and, finally, another summer-blockbuster, the war-epic _The Patriot(2000)_ (the 'Mel Gibson' role). Ford has said The Patriot was "too violent" for his tastes, especially considering that many children were killed and endangered throughout the film. Ford also told People Magazine that he turned down The Patriot because he felt the story was too simple: "The Revolutionary War boiled down to one man seeking revenge," he said.

Replaced Kevin Costner for the lead in Air Force One (1997).

Credited with "creating" what many believe to be the best scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) because he was suffering from a bout of dysentery at the time of filming: during the scene in Cairo with the swordsman in black, the script called for a much longer fight, but because of his condition, Harrison quietly asked director Spielberg if they could shorten the scene. Spielberg's reply was that the only way it could be done would be if Indy pulled out his gun and "just shot the guy." The rest of the crew, not aware of the change, laughed at this, and it remained in the final cut.

Honored for his work with the environment, Ford was asked to name a new breed of butterfly. He named it after his daughter, Georgia.

Kevin Costner's character in Dragonfly (2002) was written with the intention of Harrison Ford taking the film role. Ford turned down the role to take a year off from movies.

Has a species of ant named after him. Peidole harrisonfordi - a species of Central American ant was named in honour of the actor's conservation work. Also a spider - Calponia Harrisonfordi.

Both his Indiana Jones jacket and fedora are on display at the Smithsonian.

He nearly turned down the role of Henry in Regarding Henry (1991) because the main character was a trial lawyer. He had just played a trial lawyer in Presumed Innocent (1990), and was afraid of being typecast as a lawyer! He later took the role when he realized that Henry would only be functioning as a lawyer for the first ten minutes of the film.

Worked as a carpenter before hitting the big time. On the "Westside" of Los Angeles, it's a (pretty) big deal to have kitchen cabinets made by Harrison Ford.

Scared director Steven Spielberg and the crew during _Indiana Jones & The Temple of Doom (1984)_ when, without warning, he ran out across the rope bridge used in the film's climax to test its safety.

Children: with Mary Marquardt, sons Benjamin (22.09.1967) and Willard (14.05.1969); with Melissa Mathison, son Malcolm (10.03.1987) and daughter Georgia (30.06.1991).

He had a role as the principal in _E.T. The Extra Terrestrial(1982)_ who lectures Elliot about the dangers of alcohol. The scene was cut because Spielberg felt that Ford's presence would break the flow of the film. His scene was filmed but never used. The only footage that is known to exist appeared in The E.T. Storybook, released at the same time as the film.

Said that _Blade Runner(1982)_ was one of the most frustrating films he'd ever done, because the actual shoot was very grueling and because of the post-production changes which were meant to (but didn't) help the film do better at the box office.


The Hot Films
(1) The Empire Strikes Back -- Shocking, I know. It's the best of the SW films overall, and features the most of everyone's favorite intergalactic scoundrel.
(2) Raiders of the Lost Ark -- Again, it's the best of its respective trilogy. Further evidence that nothing makes a man foxier than a fedora. Of course, I wish my archaeology professors could ever come close to being that handsome. *sigh* Oh well.
(3) Indiana Jones & the Last Crusade -- Ok, it's a little silly, it's still good, it's still good. Even when dressed like a Nazi, he looks like a million sexy bucks. Plus, my inner archaeology geek rejoices at the end, since it was shot at Petra, which is an awesome ancient site in Jordan.
(4) A New Hope -- Han at his butt-kicking best. I still love that "how you doin'" wink at the end.
(5) Indiana Jones & the Temple of Doom -- This one so low mainly because of the presence of the ever-irritating Kate Capshaw and that not-quite-so-irritating Asian kid. On the other hand, you get Indy in a tux at the beginning, not to mention all the buff goodness near the end.
(6) Return of the Jedi -- I like this one more than most people, mainly because Luke just so damn cool by this film. Han's still great, but that bit of whininess over "Oh, you can tell Luke, but you can't tell me?" is not so cool.
(7) Witness -- Amish boy witnesses murder. Ford protects boy and his attractive widow mother by going undercover in Amish colony. Much tension between sexy cop and widow ensues. Megan is very pleased. Plus, if you look real hard, you can find Viggo Mortensen as another Amish guy.
(8) Air Force One -- Harrison Ford + Gary Oldman = . Too bad it's a mediocre Die Hard on a Plane, and that it features Glenn Close. Still, it's fairly entertaining, and who wouldn't want a guy like this for president?
(9) Blade Runner -- Really, I don't remember so much about his performance in this as I do the visuals. It's wasnt' bad though, and for future reference...Select the black box below with your cursor to view the spoiler text
Select the black box below with your cursor to view the spoiler text
I side with the "he's a replicant" theory. Feel free to disagree.

(10) What Lies Beneath -- The film over all was rather m'eh, and the ending was silly, but I give this film credit for casting Ford against type.