Actor Harrison Ford was born 80 years ago in Chicago, USA, is married and has 5 children, one of whom is adopted.
When he was young, Harrison was a boy scout and worked as a counsellor at a scout camp. Before graduating in 1960, since he was a very shy person, he decided to take a drama class to overcome his timidity and was ‘enchanted’ by acting.
Harrison’s acting career commenced in 1966, with very small roles in several films and TV series, continuing all through the remaining of the 60s and beginning of the 70s. He was unhappy as his work was not credited and so he taught himself carpentry and became a professional in this field.
Then, from 1973 onwards, Harrison was offered to act in small parts of some movies like ‘American Graffiti’, ‘The Conversation’ and ‘Apocalypse Now’. More important roles were obtained in the late 70s and Harrison finally became a star with his role as Han Solo in the 1977 blockbuster movie ‘Star Wars’ and its sequels ‘The Empire Strikes Back’, ‘Return of the Jedi’ and ‘Star Wars Holiday Special’, released in the early 80s.
Ford’s popularity got stronger with his leading role in the ‘Indiana Jones’ trilogy. A string of successful movies followed in the rest of the 80s and through the 90s, namely ‘The Fugitive’, ‘Patriot Games’, ‘Witness’, ‘Air Force One’ and many, many others.
The movies Harrison starred afterwards were not as commercially successful as the previous ones, with the exception of ‘What Lies Beneath’ released in 2000.
During the last 2 decades, Harrison starred in 19 films and is currently filming a post-production of the 5th Indiana Jones movie, supposedly to be released next year. He also appeared in several documentaries and other TV series.
Apart from acting and carpentry, Harrison is also a licensed pilot of helicopters and aeroplanes. He owns a number of aircrafts and has even offered rescue service in his home state, Wyoming. He was also involved in a few accidents.
Ford also greatly supports environmental organisations towards nature protection as well professional archaeologists’ works.
During his +50-year career, Harrison was honoured with several awards including an AFI Life Achievement and a Career Achieve, amongst others.