Even top performers can hit a rough patch, and Indiana Jones legend Harrison Ford has spoken about a challenging 15-year stretch early in his working life — including how he earned money to get through it.
Given how long Ford has been a fixture on movie screens, it can feel surprising to think his career ever stalled. His first on-screen credit dates back to 1966, when he appeared in the crime thriller Dead Heat on a Merry-Go-Round in a small role.
Momentum built slowly, but a major turning point arrived seven years later with his performance in American Graffiti (1973), a role that helped cement him as a rising talent.
By the time Ford became the face of Indiana Jones — beginning with the first film in 1981 and continuing through all five movies — he was already on his way to becoming a global movie icon. Add in his portrayal of Han Solo in the Star Wars series, and his place in Hollywood history was secured.
Still, Ford has shared that the road to that level of success wasn’t as smooth as it looks in hindsight.
Looking back on his early days, Ford spoke during a commencement address at Arizona State University and, according to Entertainment Weekly, admitted: “acting was not yet paying the bills”.
After joining Ripon’s theater department in 1964, he later signed a deal with Columbia Pictures — an agreement that helped get him established in Hollywood, even if stable work didn’t immediately follow.
Ford also became a father in 1966, welcoming his first child, son Benjamin, with then wife Mary Marquardt.
With a young family to support, he explained that he relied on carpentry alongside acting work to ‘put food on the table’.
“I only took acting jobs when the part challenged me,” he said — noting that this period of juggling work and selective acting roles lasted for 15 years.
Carpentry, he said, was effectively his primary line of work during that time, and he told the audience he completed only ‘four or five acting jobs’ across those years. Even so, those projects included standouts like American Graffiti and the thriller The Conversation, which also featured Gene Hackman. Not long after, everything changed when he landed a role in Star Wars.
One lesser-known detail from that era is how woodworking connections helped open acting doors. Ford’s client, casting director Fred Roos, reportedly suggested him to George Lucas — who went on to create the Star Wars franchise — and that recommendation ultimately helped Ford secure his part in American Graffiti.
Even as his film career accelerated and he stepped into Indiana Jones, Ford said he continued to feel that ‘something was missing’.
He described finding that missing element in 1980, after meeting a group in Wyoming who would become the founders of Conservation International.
In 1991, Ford joined the nonprofit as vice-chair, supporting efforts to protect forests and oceans — and more than 30 years later, he remains involved with the organization.