Scared director Steven Spielberg and the crew during Indiana Jones and 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. Spielberg later quipped "What can I say? Harrison really IS Indiana Jones.".
Sits on the Board of Directors for Conservation International.
Starred in 5 consecutive films (beginning with Apocalypse Now (1979) and ending with Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983)) that are on the IMDb Top 250 list. He has 8 films on the list overall, tying for second place with Robert De Niro. James Stewart has the most with 9.
Stars in four of the American Film Institute's 100 Most Heart-Pounding Movies: Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) at #10, Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977) at #27, The Fugitive (1993) at #33 and Blade Runner (1982) at #74.
Studied at Ripon College in Ripon, Wisconsin, but left without obtaining a degree.
Tested for the role of Joe Buck in Midnight Cowboy (1969). However, the then-unknown actor was turned down for the role. Jon Voight was eventually offered the role.
The U.S. box office grosses of all of Ford's films total about $3.18 billion, with worldwide grosses totaling approximately $5.65 billion. No other actor in history has box-office grosses as large as Ford's.
Tore a ligament in his knee while filming the special shoot trailer for The Fugitive (1993), in which he took the lead role after Alec Baldwin backed out (as had happened with Patriot Games (1992)). During the film's PR campaign, he complained that he'd made it through the entire shoot unscathed, only to injure himself shooting a trailer for the movie after production was finished.
Turned down the role of Bob Barnes in Syriana (2005). He later said that it was one of the few choices in his career that he regretted.
Turned down the role of Dr. Curtis McCabe in Vanilla Sky (2001).
Turned down the role of Judge Wakefield in the movie Traffic (2000).
Turned down the romance-action film Proof of Life (2000) (the 'Russell Crowe (I)' role), the summer-blockbuster The 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. He told People Magazine that he also turned down the film because he felt the story was too simple: "The Revolutionary War boiled down to one man seeking revenge".
Was a master carpenter before becoming a movie star, a craft he still does as a hobby.
Was friends with Billy Dee Williams before they appeared together in Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980). Williams had tested for the role of Han Solo in the original film.
Was offered the part of Mike Stivic on "All in the Family" (1968), but turned it down, citing the bigotry of Archie Bunker was too offensive.
Was offered the role of Dr. Alan Grant in Jurassic Park (1993) but turned it down. The role went to Sam Neill instead.
Was offered the role of Garrett Breedlove in Terms of Endearment (1983) but he turned it down due to the age difference between himself and Shirley MacLaine. Jack Nicholson was cast instead and went on to win a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his performance.
Was originally brought in by George Lucas to feed lines to other actors auditioning for Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977) because he wasn't allowed to audition (Lucas wanted new faces for the film). He eventually won Lucas over and the role of Han Solo went to him.
Was the second actor to play Tom Clancy's CIA man Jack Ryan (in Patriot Games (1992) and Clear and Present Danger (1994)) after the first actor, Alec Baldwin backed out after The Hunt for Red October (1990). Ben Affleck is the third to take the part.
Was the subject of a song by folksinger Christine Lavin.