Dallas County Living Well Magazine Winter 2015 | Page 40

From page 37
really well written with some very intriguing developments.
I was very happy.” Still, he’s been mum on the plot details.
The rise to the top
Success didn’t always come so expectedly for Ford. Surprisingly, he discovered his love of acting almost by chance,
according to his profile on Biography.com. As a student
studying philosophy and English at Ripon College in Wisconsin, he took a drama class, hoping for an “easy A.” He
instead found his passion.
“I was terrified to get up in front of people, but I really enjoyed the storytelling part,” Ford said to People Magazine
about the drama class.

storytelling
part.

He didn’t finish college, instead pursuing his dream of becoming an actor and moving out to Hollywood in the early
1960s. But, success wasn’t easy and Ford eked out a living
as a contract actor. He told the Hollywood Reporter that, at
one point, a studio official told him that he’d never make it
in the entertainment business.
Moving forward, Ford supplemented his income working
on Hollywood sets as a carpenter. He worked with George
Lucas and Francis Ford Coppola in both small acting roles
and carpentry before his big break depicting Han Solo in
the original Star Wars franchise in the late 1970s through

Shutterstock

I was terrified to get up
in front of people, but
I really enjoyed the

early 1980s. Around the same time, he cemented his place
as a Hollywood powerhouse in the Indiana Jones franchise.
By the 1980s, Ford was a member of the Hollywood elite.
From Star Wars and Indiana Jones Ford starred in several
memorable films in the decades to come, including: Witness, Patriot Games, Clear and Present Danger, Air Force
One, and more. He earned $20 million per film with 15%
of the film’s gross take at the box office at his peak, cites
Biography.com.
Continued Success
As Ford entered the new millennium, he took on less and
less acting roles. Still, the roles he played often continued
to resonate with audiences. Notable works included Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008),

Harrision Ford chatting and signing
autographs in Hollywood, California.
Dreamstime

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DALLAS COUNTY Living Well Magazine | WINTER 2015