is undoubtedly one of the greatest Hollywood stars of the 20th and 21st centuries – he starred in “Blade Runner” and the Indiana Jons series. He has worked with Ridley Scott, Francis Ford Coppola, George Lucas, Steven Spielberg and Roman Polanski. he waited in Hollywood for a very long time – he tried unsuccessfully to break into the industry for 14 years.The roles were so bad that he learned carpentry to support himself, his wife and two children.
Harrison Ford got the role in “Star Wars” by chance
Ford became interested in acting while still in school – he went to acting classes to overcome his morbid shyness. He liked it so much that he decided to continue on this path. He started as an extra and got into several productions. It was unlucky that Jerry Tokovsky, the head of Columbia Pictures, stumbled upon his path. The latter decided that young Ford had no future in Hollywood and pushed him to the bottom of the payroll. The actor was offered worse and worse roles, so irritated by this situation he decided to get another, reliable profession.
Harrison Ford learned carpentry and gained stability in his life thanks to this occupation. “I could feed my family and I was able to pick roles from what was offered to me. I could afford to wait until something better came along, but I never gave up on my ambition to be an actor. I was frustrated but never felt defeated by his frustration” – said in an interview that Brad Duke in the book “Harrison Ford: The Films”.
However, there is nothing bad that does not come out for good. Back in the 1960s, when Ford had a contract with Universal, casting director Fred Roos spotted him. He immediately knew that the actor had something in him and over the years, with stubbornness worthy of a better cause, he was looking for more roles for him. It was a struggle at first, but in 1973 they managed to get George Lucas to cast Harrison Ford in his film American Graffiti. The film was a success, but it did not lead to a breakthrough in Ford’s career. We had to wait a few more years for this one.
Nevertheless, the producer of the film – Francis Ford Coppola himself – remembered the actor and gave him minor cameos in his two films “The Conversation” and “Apocalypse Now”. In addition, Harrison Ford worked on both productions as a carpenter.
In 1976, George Lucas was looking for the cast for his new Star Wars movie and he wanted to cast actors with unmarked faces. Which is why he didn’t want to hire Harrison Ford at all, to avoid being accused of doing the same thing he did on American Graffiti. Nevertheless, Roos did not give up hope and convinced Lucas to hire Harrison, at least as a carpenter to build an office at American Zoetrope, where he auditioned for a new production.
Admittedly, Lucas had an unusual approach because he auditioned actors in threes – he wanted to see right away if the potential actors for the roles of Luke, Leia and Han would be a good match. It so happened that there were no candidates to play Captain Solo. It was also then that Harrison Ford was asked for help – of course, on the initiative of Fred Roos. Interestingly, Ford read lines with Mark Hamill.
Lucas auditioned for the role of Han Solo Christopher Walken, Kurt Russell, Al Pacino and Sylvester Stallone. It turned out that the 34-year-old carpenter was the best fit. Apparently his sense of humor was decisive. During the audition, the director asked him, “You know, it’s about spaceships and flying and stuff. Do you know how to fly?” to which Ford rushed back, “Fly? Yes. Land? No.”
– I helped George Lucas audition actors for the lead roles. I had no expectations and was completely surprised when I was approached for the film. At that time, I was earning my living as a carpenter, Harrison Ford recalled years later.
Source: Gazeta
Bruce is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment . He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
