5 elements to understand…Harrison Ford’s career
At the new edition of the Cannes Film Festival 2023, the famous American actor Harrison Ford, now 80 years old, surprisingly received a Palme d’Or. The famous actor with many awards did not always have his current fame and was not always recognized for his talent, his beginnings were difficult to say the least.
Disastrous school career and exposure
Although Harrison Ford is very active in the community life of his schools, his results are disastrous. But in third year of high school, when he enrolls in acting class, the student who didn’t enroll gets a revelation. The theater shows him the path he can take professionally and he decides to become an actor.
Although he did not graduate due to his too frequent absenteeism and poor grades, ” Harry Nicknamed by his comrades, convinced his parents to move there Hollywood. He goes there with me Maria Marquardtan actress who would become his wife and mother of his first two children.
Difficult film debut and career change
In the city of entertainment, the roles don’t jostle, and as he fights to land a contract, his name doesn’t even appear in the credits…
He plays many small roles in films, but the income he receives is far too meager to meet the needs of the household. And it becomes critical for him when his wife gives birth to a child Benjamin, her first son. Furthermore, his work and the second-rate characters he plays aren’t enough for him. He saw it very badly that he had to limit his acting skills and talent by confining himself to small roles. Although he agrees Universal imageshis income remains insufficient and he must find a solution to support his family…
While doing the work on his house, Harrison Ford had the idea: he would be a carpenter! He then takes this job very seriously and learns the wood trade by doing renovation work. At the same time, he puts his pride aside and combines small roles to raise as much money as possible, especially now that their second son, Willardhas just been released.
Han Solo and Star Wars
A stroke of fate leads to a decisive encounter for his career, that of his youth George Lucas. Against all odds, Harrison Ford meets him not because of his acting talent, but because of the chance to be hired to set the director’s wardrobe.
One thing leads to another, the two men become friends and Harrison is chosen for the role. d’Han Solo in the mythical saga war of stars “. While the first film from the film sold as a failure FoxThe film was a hit when it opened in theaters and propelled the 35-year-old actor into a real star for the first time in his life. For this role he was paid the remarkable sum of 650,000 US dollars, which finally enabled him to concentrate exclusively on his film career and leave the profession of carpentry in other brave hands.
Indiana Jones
Steven Spielberg etc George Lucas are working on their upcoming project: the first ” Indiana Jones and are looking for their leading actor for the role of the courageous adventurer. The two filmmakers cannot agree on this choice. On the one hand Spielberg tries to convince his colleague that Harrison Ford was born to wear the mythical character’s costume. The other George Lucas is against the idea of casting him because he feels the public would identify him too closely with his old role d’Han Solo.
After many attempts at persuasion Spielberg In the end, he convinces his colleague, who finally agrees to play Harrison Ford in the lead role. The success of the adventures of this character is so great that the actor becomes a real cinema superstar, much more than when he played Han Solo.
blade runner
In this film based on the novel by Philip K Dick« Do androids dream of electric sheep? », the world-famous actor, takes the first place of the poster. He embodies private investigator Rick Declare, giving him vulnerable traits to heighten the character’s intensity.
The tension on the set is palpable between the directors Ridley Scott and his leading actor, Harrison Ford. They are constantly at odds with every decision made in the film, and the actor’s interpretation of the role is very poorly received by viewers. This does nothing to further exacerbate the differences between the two men.
When it finally hit theaters in 1982, it was a complete failure and the reviews were disastrous. This debacle can be explained by the success of the film. AND was fired at the same time as him and Harrison played poorly on set due to his discomfort.
