Harrison Ford is a well-known American actor, aviator, pilot, and producer, with a net worth of $300 million. According to popular stories, Ford had a hard time finding acting jobs and supported himself by working as a carpenter before getting the role that made him famous. While building cabinets for George Lucas, he was asked to try out for a new film called “Star Wars.” His strong audition led to him being cast as Han Solo, which marked the start of his successful career.
After doing well in “Star Wars,” Ford went on to star in the very popular “Indiana Jones” series and continued acting in movies that were both hits at the box office and praised by critics. These include “Blade Runner,” “Witness,” “The Devil’s Own,” “The Fugitive,” and “What Lies Beneath.”
He also played the role of Jack Ryan in “Patriot Games” and “Clear and Present Danger.” Even though his career slowed down during the late 1990s and early 2000s, he made a strong return in recent years with roles in movies like “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull,” “Cowboys & Aliens,” “The Expendables 3,” “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” “Blade Runner 2049,” and “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.” In 2023, he came back once more as Indiana Jones in “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.” Three of Ford’s movies are among the five highest-earning films of all time.
Early Life
Harrison Ford was born on July 13, 1942, in Chicago, Illinois. He studied philosophy at Ripon College in Wisconsin. To deal with his lifelong shyness, he signed up for a drama class during the last part of his senior year, which sparked his interest in acting. After finishing college, he stayed in Wisconsin and took part in several local theater performances. In 1964, he went to Los Angeles to try out for a radio voice-over job. Even though he didn’t get the job, he decided to stay in Los Angeles.
He later got into a new talent program at Columbia Pictures that paid $150 per week. From 1966 to 1973, he only managed to get a few small and often uncredited parts.
Harrison was married and had two young sons, so he started working as a carpenter to support his family. By chance, he did some carpentry work for famous filmmakers George Lucas and Francis Ford Coppola. Through Coppola, Ford came to the attention of producer Fred Roos, who worked on The Godfather.
Roos helped arrange an audition for Harrison for Lucas’ upcoming movie, American Graffiti, which was also produced by Coppola. Ford got the part and stood out in his role as Bob Falfa. American Graffiti ended up becoming one of the highest-earning movies ever, making over $140 million from a small budget of $770,000. This success helped Lucas get the funding he needed from Fox to start working on a space movie he had been planning for a long time.
Harrison was given small but meaningful roles in Coppola’s 1974 film The Conversation and his 1979 film Apocalypse Now. Still, it was George Lucas’ space movie that made Harrison Ford a global star. That movie, as many know, was the famous 1977 release, Star Wars.
Harrison Ford (Credits: Getty Images)Star Wars
At first, George Lucas had Harrison Ford read lines with other actors during the casting process. In the end, he decided to give him the part of Han Solo. Harrison had made $500 per week for American Graffiti, but for Star Wars, he was paid $10,000, which would be about $42,000 today when adjusted for inflation.
Star Wars Earnings
For the 1980 follow-up, The Empire Strikes Back, Harrison was paid $100,000. Then, for 1983’s The Return of the Jedi, he received $500,000. When adjusted for inflation, the pay for those two films adds up to about $1.6 million today.
Many years later, Harrison got a base salary of $15 million for playing Han Solo again in 2015’s The Force Awakens. He also earned a small portion of the movie’s box office money, bringing his total income from that film to $25 million.
Indiana Jones
Besides being famous for playing Han Solo, Harrison Ford is also well-loved for his role as Indiana Jones. He first played the adventurous archaeologist in 1981 when Raiders of the Lost Ark was released. The next movie, Temple of Doom, came out in 1984, followed by the third film, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, in 1989.
While the exact numbers about what he earned from the first three Indiana Jones movies aren’t widely known, it’s clear he was paid a large amount for returning in the 2008 film Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. In the eight years before that, he had only acted in four movies and was living a more laid-back life. He returned to the role again in the 2023 film Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.
Kingdom of the Crystal Skull Compensation
To encourage Harrison Ford to come out of retirement, Paramount Pictures made a very profitable agreement with him. This deal would start once the movie made back its production and marketing costs. The profits were split fairly evenly between the studio, Ford, and executive producers Steven Spielberg and George Lucas.
Each of them—Harrison, George, and Steven—earned $65 million from Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, making it the 12th biggest paycheck for an actor at the time this was written.
Harrison Ford (Credits: Getty Images)Noteworthy Earnings
In the early to mid-1990s, Harrison Ford regularly earned between $10 million and $12 million for each movie. For example, he was paid $9 million for his role in the 1992 movie Patriot Games and $10 million for the 1994 sequel Clear and Present Danger. In 1997, his salary jumped to $20 million for The Devil’s Own.
He received $20 million for several other films, such as Air Force One, Six Days Seven Nights, Random Hearts, and What Lies Beneath. For the 2002 movie K-19: The Widowmaker, Ford was paid $25 million and got 20% of the film’s total earnings. Reports say he made $25 million for Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, after agreeing to take a large pay cut of $40 million to play the character one last time.
Personal Background
Harrison Ford was married to Mary Marquardt from 1964 until they divorced in 1979. During that time, they had two sons, including Benjamin Ford, who is a restaurateur. In 1983, he married Melissa Mathison, the screenwriter of E.T. They had two children together. When they divorced in 2004, Ford reportedly paid Mathison a settlement between $90 million and $100 million, making it one of the most expensive celebrity divorces ever.
Who is Calista Flockhart?
In 2010, Harrison married actress Calista Flockhart. Their relationship started in 2002 after they met at the Golden Globe Awards. They are parents to her adopted son, Liam.
Even though their relationship got a lot of media attention when it first started, they’ve kept things much more private in recent years, which often happens when both people are already well-known in Hollywood. If you’re interested in learning more about the couple and want to know more about the woman who has been with Harrison for so long, here’s a closer look at their relationship.
They met in a very Hollywood way
Harrison and Calista met at the 2002 Golden Globe Awards. Calista was nominated for her role in the TV show Ally McBeal, which she starred in from 1997 to 2002. That night, Harrison was honored with the Cecil B. DeMille Award. So from the very beginning, both had major star power.
At that time, the Indiana Jones star was in the process of divorcing his second wife, Melissa Mathison. Their divorce was finalized in 2004.
Harrison Ford and Calista Flockhart (Credits: Getty Images)Harrison and Calista have a 22-year age difference
When they met, Harrison was 60 and Calista was 38. Harrison was already a father to four children: Ben and Willard from his first marriage to Mary Marquardt, and Malcolm and Georgia from his marriage to Melissa. Calista had adopted a son named Liam in January 2001, and over time, Harrison formed a close bond with him.
“I wasn’t expecting it at all. The unexpected part was certainly true and the joy part is also true. I think Liam was about 6 or 8 months old when I met him and Calista. We have been together ever since,” Harrison told Parade in January 2010. In the same interview, he talked about enjoying time with Calista and Liam, saying, “On the weekends, I do whatever Calista and Liam want to do. We’ll take a couple of hours on Sunday morning to go motorcycle riding or go for a hike.”
They got engaged on Valentine’s Day
After dating for seven years, Harrison proposed to Calista on Valentine’s Day. They got married in June 2010 in a small ceremony in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where Harrison was filming Cowboys and Aliens. Liam was there too. The wedding was officiated by Governor Bill Richardson with New Mexico’s Chief Justice Charles W. Daniels present.
Around this time, Harrison adopted Liam as his own son. In a heartfelt interview with Reader’s Digest (via People), the actor talked about how Liam had always been an important part of his relationship with Calista. He said, “It’s a wonderful opportunity to be part of a child’s growing up, which is always an endless springtime.
You see the blossoming and the growing and the nurturing and the payoff. Being a parent made me just a bit less self-centered.” He also said, “Calista’s a mother by choice—she adopted Liam before we met, as a single parent, which is an awesome responsibility to take. She’s devoted herself to Liam and has done a really wonderful job raising him. I’m happy to now have a part of the job.”
Harrison Ford and Calista Flockhart (Credits: Getty Images)Calista is very supportive of Harrison
Especially when it comes to his hobbies. It’s well known that Harrison has loved planes for years, and he got his pilot’s license when he was 53. Fortunately for him, Calista enjoys flying too, and it’s become one of the things they enjoy doing together the most.
“Calista loves to fly, and I’m thrilled because it’s so important to me and it’s the kind of thing that’s so much more fun with somebody who really enjoys it,” Harrison told People in 2003. “Liam loves to fly. Calista likes the process, she likes what she sees from the air, and she likes seeing me happy. I think a lot of it has to do with that she loves to see me doing something that I love.”
During the conversation, Calista said, “I had always been a little nervous about flying, but when we went for the first time—I think to Santa Barbara—I wasn’t nervous at all. I loved it.”
“I also think I love it because I really trust Harrison,” she added, explaining that they “take Liam flying all the time and he loves it.”
Sadly, Harrison was involved in a plane crash while flying over a golf course in Los Angeles in 2015. His wife quickly rushed to be with him during his recovery. Calista later spoke about how the crash affected her and their family: “I think it just makes you realize once again that life can turn on a dime, and we just have to appreciate every second we’re here, because you never know.”
Real Estate
In 1983, Harrison bought a large home in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles for $1 million. He later sold this gated property, which covers 3/4 of an acre, in 2012 for $8.2 million. In 2011, Harrison and Calista spent $12.6 million on another house in Brentwood, which has been their main home in Los Angeles for many years. Property records show that he still owns at least three more homes in the city, which are either used as investments or lived in by family members.
In 2001, Harrison bought a penthouse in New York City’s Flatiron District for $5.3 million. He put it up for sale in 2010 for $16 million but later decided not to sell it. The penthouse is 5,500 square feet and includes four bedrooms and 4.5 bathrooms. It has an elevator, 11 rooms, a modern kitchen, a security system, a gym, an office, and a library.
The floors are made of anigre wood and poured concrete, both with heated surfaces. At the top of the penthouse is a 2,300-square-foot private rooftop terrace with a wet bar and views of Manhattan and the Hudson River.
In Wyoming, Ford owns an 800-acre ranch along the Snake River near Jackson. He has set aside half of the property as a nature reserve.
Harrison Ford and Calista Flockhart (Credits: Getty Images)Private Planes
Harrison is well known for his love of flying and being a pilot. This attention comes from several incidents over the years, including a crash on a golf course in Los Angeles and a dangerous landing on a runway in Orange County.
He owns up to ten aircraft, including a helicopter. His most well-known plane is a 2009 Cessna 680, which cost $18 million when it was new. Harrison keeps his planes and helicopter at Santa Monica Airport, which is about a 10-minute drive from his home in Brentwood. He can easily take an Uber to the airport, get on his plane, and fly to Wyoming in less than 20 minutes. He’s known for making that trip often.
In Wyoming, he uses his helicopter to help with firefighting and other emergency rescue missions. In the year 2000, Harrison helped rescue a hiker who had collapsed from dehydration. The hiker, who was wearing a t-shirt and a cowboy hat, and the person with him didn’t realize until later that the pilot who came to help them was a famous actor.