The first time Harrison Ford felt heard by a director: “The first time anyone ever listened to me”

After starting out his career with a number of minor, uncredited roles, Harrison Ford’s career took off when he landed a slew of blockbusters in the late 1970s and early 1980s. It started when Ford took on the role of a lifetime in Han Solo in George Lucas’ beloved sci-fi Star Wars. The film made over $700 million at the box office, and suddenly, Ford went from part-time carpenter and part-time actor to one of the most well-known faces in Hollywood. 

Ford cemented himself as a blockbusting force in the years that followed, reprising the role of Han Solo but also taking on the roles of Rick Deckard in Blade Runner and Indiana Jones in the series of the same name. He collected sci-fi and big-budget blockbusters like stamps, gathering more fame and acclaim with each new project. Fast-forward half a century, and Ford is still guaranteed to draw big numbers at the box office. 

However, even actors as established as Ford have to start out somewhere. Long before he became the adventuring Indiana Jones or one of many portrayals of Jack Ryan, Ford was struggling to make himself heard in Hollywood. This all changed when he landed a role in one film in particular, American Graffiti, which hit cinemas just a couple of years before Star Wars sent Ford’s career to new heights.

American Graffiti was directed by George Lucas and marked Ford’s first film with the sci-fi pioneer. The film followed the escapades of a group of young rockers on one night, and starred some huge names including Jaws’ Richard Dreyfuss and actor-turned-director Ron Howard. Ford took on the role of Bob Falfa, who spent the night seeking a drag race.

The film was pivotal for Ford. Not only did it introduce him to Lucas, who would kickstart his career, but it also marked the first time that he felt able to collaborate closely with the director and crew around him. Recalling the experience during an interview with Empire, he described American Graffiti as “the first movie where the director let me have any input.”

“It was the first time anyone ever listened to me,” he added. He cited his character’s look as an example. Lucas had planned for Bob to have a crew cut, but Ford was too attached to his long hair. He suggested that his character should wear a cowboy hat instead. “George thought about it and he remembered a bunch of guys from Modesto, California, who cruised around, like my character, and wore cowboy hats,” he recalled, “So it turned out that it actually fit the movie.” 

The change worked for the movie, but more importantly, it showed Ford that movie-making could and should be collaborative. It makes sense, then, that Ford continued to work with Lucas throughout his career. The actor would continue to make suggestions to the director even on the set of Star Wars. 

The most notable example of this is probably Han Solo’s response of “I know” after Princess Leia says that she loves him. Initially, Ford’s character was supposed to return her affections, to tell Leia that he loved her too, but the actor didn’t see this as being consistent with the character’s personality. He proposed a script change to Lucas, who wasn’t initially sold on the idea, but it proved to be one of the most iconic lines in the series.

This only serves as proof that good working relationships between actors and directors will only serve the story, a truth Ford learned early on in the American Graffiti set.