Harrison Ford
I love a story like Harrison Ford's big break...
After years playing minor roles in TV programmes such as The
Virginian, Ironside and Kung Fu, he had to support his family,
at the time a wife and two small sons, by working as a carpenter.
In 1973, whilst making cabinets for George Lucas at the Lucas
home, George Lucas was casting for American Graffiti and gave
Harrison Ford a pivotal supporting role. The rest is, as they
say, history. The two men became friends and George Lucas
cast Harrison Ford as Han Solo in Star Wars. - Now don't all
rush off to become carpenters! But, aside from his success
with George Lucas, Harrison Ford had carried out extentions
to Francis Ford Coppola's office and whilst doing that job
he was cast in small roles in Coppola's The Conversation and
Apocolypse Now. The moral to this story is, if you are going
to be a carpenter, be a damned good one and get work in the
offices of the people influential in the profession where
you would prefer to be earning the daily crust...
George Lucas, of course, went on to create the
character Indiana Jones... Never let it be said that Harrison
Ford does not grasp an opportunity with both hands and hold
on with an iron grip... ;-) Well, he's got strong hands, he
is a carpenter afterall...
Star Wars
and Indiana Jones
have their own pages and if you click on the film title you'll
be taken there.
Harrison Ford has consistently made excellent
films and some, in my view, are classics. Blade Runner, for
instance. An intriguing, orginial film with a great script.
Ridley Scott always gets superb performances from his actors,
but the stella cast in Blade Runner excelled and non more
so than Harrison Ford and Sean Young. And the romantic comedy
Working Girl is simply a beautiful story and Harrison Ford
as the nervy executive against Melanie Griffiths naive but
brilliant office secretary creates wonderful, and deeply moving
and amusing drama. I love that film. And what about Harrison
Ford's Jack Ryan in Tom Clancy's Patriot Games, made in 1992,
and Clear and Present Danger, made in 1994. And what about
Harrison Ford's performance as Dr Richard Kimble in The Fugitive?
Absolutely brilliant! And we can't forget, Frantic, Presumed
Innocent and Air Force One, all seriously great films with
Harrison Ford at the centre of the action and, at times, carrying
the movie on his own. And I have to mention Sabrina. I like
that film. It is gentle and very touching with great performances
from the whole cast.
Tim Rees
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