Harrison Ford, SAG-AFTRA Life Achievement Recipient

 

[On Sunday, 1 March 2026 at the Shrine Auditorium and Expo Hall in Los Angeles, the 32nd Annual Actor Awards (known until November 2025 as the Screen Actors Guild Awards) were presented.  That was also the occasion for the presentation (by actor Woody Harrelson [b. 1961]) of the 2025 SAG-AFTRA Life Achievement Award.  

[This year’s recipient, the 61st, is actor Harrison Ford, the first to be honored with the newly renamed award. (Up through last year, the award was called the SAG Life Achievement Award because it was originated by the Screen Actors Guild before the 2012 merger with the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists.)

[The SAG-AFTRA Life Achievement Award is the highest honor bestowed by the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, the media professionals’ union, given annually to a performer who fosters the “finest ideals of the acting profession” through career accomplishments and humanitarian work. 

[The honoree is nominated and chosen by the SAG-AFTRA National Honors and Tributes Committee. The award celebrates lifelong dedication to the craft and society.  To qualify, a candidate must be a well-established performer who has improved the image of the acting profession and maintained active involvement in humanitarian or public service endeavors. 

[Two previous recipients of the award, whose careers have been profiled on Rick On Theater, are Barbra Streisand (17 September 2024), the 59th awardee, and Jane Fonda (22 March 2025), the 60th.] 

“HARRISON FORD: HERO OF OUR HEARTS”

[This Harrison Ford profile appeared in the membership magazine SAG-AFTRA (15.2 – Spring 2026).  It was followed by an interview of Ford by the union president, Sean Astin, which I have also reposted below.]

“I was not an overnight success. I struggled for about 15 years, going from acting jobs to carpentry and back to acting, until I finally got a part in a wildly successful film. None of this happened on my own.”

These simple words from 61st SAG-AFTRA Life Achievement Award recipient Harrison Ford [b. 1942], delivered to a room of his fellow actors during The 32nd Annual Actor Awards Presented by SAG-AFTRA, were fitting and expected of an actor whose decades of work have been the blueprint for today’s modern movie hero. Simple yet humble, with special words of thanks and a life’s worth of gratitude to longtime colleagues in the industry, those few sentences showed the audience and viewers exactly what makes Ford something of a hero among his peers: an individual whose screen work and real life retain their own standard of excellence.

THE UNDERDOG

Once upon a time, the Academy Award- and Golden Globe-nominated performer, now 83, was anything but an A-lister. First came his expulsion [for plagiarism, four days before graduation] from Ripon College in Wisconsin — where he enrolled in his first acting class. A short time later, he was dropped from a contract with Columbian [see anecdote in following article] and, after being limited to small roles, left his Universal contract early in search of better opportunities. It was his self-taught vocation of carpentry that enabled him to continue auditioning in Hollywood and instilled within him the long-held values that have enabled him to become exalted in his profession: self-direction, steadfastness, concentration and perseverance.

His work on George Lucas’ American Graffiti in 1973 followed what was already a decade of other onscreen performances. But it was also a step in the right direction, because what came a few years later, in 1976, changed the trajectory of Ford’s career: another chance meeting with Lucas [b. 1944]. One that turned into a favor helping read lines for the director’s upcoming sci-fi production — a little thing called Star Wars [1977], which went on to gross over $410 million at the box office during its theatrical release.

Maybe you’ve heard of Han Solo?

Or perhaps you’re more familiar with another role that came a few years later. That one was for another action film for another director — a guy named Steven Spielberg [b. 1946]. It was called Raiders of the Lost Ark [1981], and it grossed nearly $390 million in theaters.

What started as a career with the odds stacked against him has turned into decades of successes in Ford’s toolbelt.

THE (SOMETIMES) HERO

If Ford’s career has ever been regarded as a stroke of luck, his work in the years following the late ’70s and early ’80s serves to prove any naysayer wrong. He’s played a hero or other “good guy” across genres — Rick Deckard in Ridley Scott’s [b. 1937] futuristic masterpiece Blade Runner [1982]; Detective John Book in the crime thriller Witness [1985; Peter Weir (b. 1944)]; President James Marshall in the action film Air Force One [1997; Wolfgang Petersen (1941-2022)]; and playboy-turned-romantic lead Linus Larrabee in the 1995 film adaptation of Sabrina [Sydney Pollack (1934-2008)].

But what’s made him a favorite among moviegoers and earned him the Golden Globe’s Cecil B. DeMille Award [2002], the Life Achievement Award from the American Film Institute [2000], the Cannes Film Festival’s Honorary Palme d’Or [2023] and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame [2003] has been the performances themselves. What Ford has always demonstrated is an understanding of the human spirit that goes beyond surface level. Hidden within the snappy one-liners and scruffy looks of his most notable roles has always been a performer with an innate knowledge of people: their honesty and deceit; their reluctance and sense of responsibility. It’s the times when he gives The Chosen One a helpful push in the right direction — and follows his own advice — that makes him a hero of the galaxy. It’s the moment he sees the half-human fugitives he’s meant to hunt as something more, and whole, that propels a sci-fi flick into a seminal work of the genre.

Ford’s humanist approach is all the more compelling in roles where he’s gone against Hollywood’s expectations and played the villain. Whether it’s been as the manipulative husband Dr. Norman Spencer in What Lies Beneath [Robert Zemeckis (b. 1951); 2000] or the obsessive patriarch Allie Fox in The Mosquito Coast [Peter Weir; 1986], what makes those moments of betrayal and disaster all the more memorable to audiences is everything that happens before. The scenes where his characters shift from their most charming, doting and morally upright to manipulative, controlling and abusive.

“I [perform] because it’s what I want to do; what I know how to do,” said Ford in a 1997 interview with Charlie Rose. “It’s where I feel the most engaged, challenged and useful. There’s nothing that I do that stimulates me more, scares me and engages me as much as making movies.”

Yet Ford has found just as much success on the small screen. Having previously guest-starred on TV shows such as Gunsmoke [1972, 1973; CBS], The Mod Squad [1968; ABC] and Ironside [1967; NBC], he has gained praise for his two most recent television projects, Yellowstone prequel 1923 [15 episodes, 2023, 2025; Paramount+] and, most notably, Shrinking [33 episodes, 2023, 2024, 2026; Apple TV+]. Both projects have allowed Ford to continue to demonstrate his range for making his characters feel as noble as any gunslinging lawman of the Wild West or as familiar as that one guy in the office who everybody knows.

As the Dutton family patriarch, Jacob, in 1923, Ford’s performances come with fire in his eyes and grit in his voice. But while his sheriff’s badge glints silver, the man underneath is shown to be desperate to keep his family’s livelihood and town from falling into chaos. On the other end of the spectrum, therapist Dr. Paul Rhoades [Ford’s character in Shrinking] is a role where Ford uses improvisation and embodies a gruff, “straight man” brand of humor.

Yet, it’s the tender moments, when his character is shown to enjoy spending time with his doctor-turned-girlfriend or battling with the increasing symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease that stay with viewers. Season two, episode 12 [24 December 2024], “The Last Thanksgiving,” is a certified fan favorite, and Ford’s work on the show earned him a first-time Screen Actors Guild Awards® nomination for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series in 2025.

If good things get better over time, then Ford’s six decades of work prove the old adage is especially true with good storytelling. With experience and a willingness to explore and test one’s own boundaries comes a unique talent: an ability to let audiences be in awe about the best and worst embodiment of a person without judgment.

“I found a calling, a life in storytelling; an identity in pretending to be other people. The work I do with other actors is one of the great joys of my life. My career is built on their work, as well as the work of writers, directors and every single cast member — every crew member I’ve ever been on the set with. I’ve had incredible collaborators every step of the way, and being able to deliver the work we create together to an audience is an honor and a privilege. . . . [Through it] I’ve come to know myself,” said Ford.

THE HUMAN ABOVE ALL

As well-known as Ford is for his professional work, his life away from the limelight is as dynamic as his most heroic portrayals.

The urban legends surrounding his life as a carpenter are quite well-known to fans. Ford is just as famously known as a real-life pilot and has volunteered for many search-and-rescue efforts. Additionally, his early knowledge of the wilderness, stemming from both a love of nature and early years spent as a Boy Scout, has developed into tireless advocacy for environmental causes both in the United States and abroad, including his delivery of testimony before the United Nations Climate Summit for forest and ocean conservation. In 2018, Ford was a recipient of the SAG-AFTRA Foundation’s Artist Inspiration Award for what was then 25 years of service to environmental nonprofit Conservation International, as well as his longtime commitment as a member of the SAG-AFTRA Foundation’s Actors’ Council.  

In the end, it may be that Ford will be remembered as a person who chose for both his life and career the responsibility of advocacy, both for his fellow actors and the world.

Said SAG-AFTRA President Sean Astin [b. 1971] of the Life Achievement Award honoree, “Harrison Ford is a singular presence in American life; an actor whose iconic characters have shaped world culture. His career has been endlessly exciting, always returning to his love of acting. We are honored to celebrate a legend whose impact on our craft is indelible.”

Nominated and voted on by the SAG-AFTRA National Honors and Tributes Committee, the Life Achievement Award is awarded annually at the Actor Awards. Considered the union’s highest honor, the award is bestowed to those whose professional and philanthropic contributions bring prestige to the craft of acting and attention to public service efforts. Ford is the awards’ 61st recipient.

*  *  *  *
“HARRISON FORD & THE LIFE OF A WORKING ACTOR” 

[This “Actor to Actor” interview of Harrison by Sean Astin appeared in the membership magazine SAG-AFTRA 15.2 (Spring 2026).]

The 61st Life Achievement Honoree Joins SAG-AFTRA President Sean Astin for an Impactful Actor to Actor Interview

Harrison Ford believes in work. He prefers the term “working actor” over “icon” and attests to the power of “putting the work in” in order to be a professional. The result of Ford’s dedication to craft has been his legacy as a performer exalted in the profession. Following the announcement that he was selected to be the 61st SAG-AFTRA Life Achievement Award honoree, Ford sat down with SAG-AFTRA President Sean Astin for an Actor to Actor interview. The following is an abridged version of their conversation that took place on Feb. 4.

SEAN ASTIN: Mr. Ford, Welcome to the SAG-AFTRA headquarters. And congratulations on being this year’s recipient of the Life Achievement Award.

HARRISON FORD: Thank you very much.

ASTIN: I looked up the word “iconic.” [That was] my first thought when they told me they wanted to see if you would accept this award. I thought, “Well he’s iconic.” Can you live with the word “iconic”?

FORD: No, I’d really rather live with the words “working actor.”

ASTIN: So a lot of our performers are in the audition process. It’s all about auditioning on videotape from home — the self tape. And it’s turned into a great convenience. And it makes me think about the contract time; when you’re doing all those auditions under contract.

FORD: Well, the best thing about being under contract is they never put me up for anything I had to audition for.

ASTIN: So that’s it? You’re in the rotation and you just . . .

FORD: Well, because my part often was nothing more than, “Mr. Jones? Paging Mr. Jones. Mr. Jones?” I was under contract at Columbia Pictures for seven years. The first thing they put me in, I was able to remember all the lines of the character I played: a bellboy [Dead Heat on a Merry-Go-Round. 1966; uncredited]. And I was summoned to the office of the executive of Columbia Pictures that was in charge of the new talent program. He said, “You’re never gonna make it in this business.” And this is on the basis of delivering a telegram. And he said, “Let me tell you a story.” He said, “The first time Tony Curtis was ever in a movie, he delivered a bag of groceries. You took one look at that guy and you say, ‘That’s a movie star.’” I leaned across the desk and said, “I thought you were supposed to think that that was a grocery delivery boy.” He said, “Get the eff out of here.” And I did.

ASTIN: Some actors carry with them self-doubt.

FORD: I can carry both. I mean, I carried both. I carried a belief that I would learn to do this. But a belief also that it was a really hard space to own, and many people were not as successful as they wanted to be in the choice of that as a career. But I was not easily dissuaded. Partially, because I thought that it would take time, and that I was learning . . . To be frank, it was a difficult time in my life. I had kids, and I was struggling with money. But it was a job and I was glad to have it.

ASTIN: I remember Witness. When it came out, I was younger and thinking “Oh, that’s what an actor [does]. You were committed to being an actor. That meant something to me.”

FORD: Well, having seen what you’ve done, I appreciate that very much.

ASTIN: I was in a film trilogy [The Ring Trilogy (2001, 2002, 2003)] . . . There were a thousand moments where the director Peter Jackson would talk about the audience. “This is what I want the audience to be feeling. This is what the audience is thinking.” And I never thought of it like that. I wonder, has that ever been a part of your . . .

FORD: Oh, yeah. I think I’m always aware of the audience and wanting to bring them along. I want to create an experience for them . . . I work for them. That’s my job. And I think about the clarity of what we’re doing. I think about the energy of what we’re doing. I think about the emotion that we’re hoping to create.

ASTIN: You’ve talked [about loving] the process of filming. And I think a lot of actors, maybe many actors, don’t have those conversations with the filmmaker or the screenwriter.

FORD: Then that’s a shame. It’s often unfortunate that an actor comes into a project and doesn’t get a fair share of the director’s attention. Especially actors without a lot of experience.

ASTIN: Well, that’s — I was going to say counterintuitive. But I guess that makes sense that people without a lot of experience would need more of that.

FORD: Not necessarily need more advice, but I think it helps to feel that the director is somehow connected to what you’re doing. And it’s not just an incidental moment, but that it means something. That’s the only way you know what to do. It’s your concept of what the task is. When you say that line, what is the intention that the writer had in mind? What is it you’re hoping to elicit from the audience? What are you feeling? Are you really there? Or is the character really there in that moment? All of those things. It would help to know that the director notices what you’re doing . . . I remember coming in at the beginning of my career, coming onto a set and just feeling like I didn’t belong there. Not knowing how to behave really.

It is often the case that you develop a relationship with the director that is open and fruitful. And there are other cases where that’s not part of his skill necessarily, or not part of your skill, but you still have to attend to the story and your character’s responsibility in the telling of the story. So you can do without that, but it helps to have a little feeling of being accepted, being appreciated.

ASTIN: What I hear you describing is fundamental humility. There must be some kind of discipline you have to have not to abuse it. Or are you just saying, “Hey, no, this is this project. This is this story. These are these characters.”

FORD: You may have a different concept than the director. And you may persist in that concept, as I did with Ridley Scott in Blade Runner, famously. He had a very different idea of the character than what I felt was necessary to drive that character for myself. I had to believe that I was human. Ridley insisted on believing I was replicant, and that I would know it. I said, “I cannot communicate from that point, that place.” I would think that I’m human.

ASTIN: All right, so this is an award being presented to you by a union which you have been a member of [since 1966].

FORD: It’s such a hard thing to be a professional actor. From the very beginning, it’s impossible. And then there’s a crack, and you get a job, and you become a member of the union. And that’s a big, big deal because then you have the support of the union. You have insurance, you have someone speaking for you to the bosses . . . I would never say I was an actor until I was being paid for it. Now that’s my little twist of mind, because that doesn’t really make sense.

ASTIN: Sure it does. Professional. When you’re a professional, you're getting paid for it.

FORD: Yeah, but if you don’t have what an actor needs, you’re not an actor, even if you’re getting paid for it. I mean, it’s a spirit. It’s a diagnosis too. It’s a complicated thing. The thing is that you can’t do it alone. You have to be employed. You have to be in the company of other actors. You can do it for free, but you have to feel like it’s important. You have to feel committed to it and to make it real.

ASTIN: This is a big moment right now for the industry. The culture has changed and the business.

FORD: The business has changed remarkably. And we don’t have the support of movie theaters as much as we used to have. And that is a damn shame. That community experience produces positive effects in the culture. We’ve been disaggregated into serviceable economic units, but there’s not the general feeling of community that we used to have when movies had captured the zeitgeist. They were needed. And they were telling a story that was needed. And that story was a positive contribution to the culture.

ASTIN: It’s still possible. You’re doing it. You’re breaking through [and] reaching other people.

FORD: You’re not in a dark room with people that you don’t know and who you begin to know because you experience a common humanity. That’s a very powerful effect.

ASTIN: I grew to know you in many movies. [It’s an] absolute lifetime achievement for me to get to sit here and interview you.

FORD: Appreciate it.

ASTIN: Much love to you. From all the actors, thank you.