Harrison Ford jokes ‘this is very encouraging’ as he wins lifetime achievement
By Laura Harding, Deputy Entertainment Editor
Harrison Ford joked “this is very encouraging” as he was honoured with the life achievement prize at the Actor Awards.
The Star Wars and Indiana Jones star, 83, was recognised for his long career in Hollywood and his extensive body of work at the ceremony, previously known as the Screen Actors Guild Awards.
He joked he was receiving the gong at the “mid-point” in his career and getting the prize merely “for being alive”.
He said: “I feel incredibly grateful for this kind attention but to be clear, I am also am quite humbled.
“I’m in a room of actors, many of whom are here because they’ve been nominated to receive a prize for their amazing work.
“Well, I’m here to receive a prize for being alive.”
He added: “It’s a little weird to be getting a Lifetime Achievement Award at the half point of my career. It’s a little early. I’m still a working actor.
“I was not an overnight success. I struggled for about 15 years, going from acting job to carpentry and back to acting, till I finally got a part in a wildly successful film.
“None of this happened on my own. Thank you, George Lucas. Thank you, Steven Spielberg.”
He continued: “This is a tough business to get into. In my case, it’s been tough business to get out of. Thank God, because I love what I do.
“The fact is, we get to live many lives. We get to explore ideas that affirm and elevate our shared experience.
“The stories we tell have a unique capacity to create moments of emotional connection that bring us together.
“So while we’re all at different stages of our lives and careers, we all share something fundamental, we share the privilege of working in the world of ideas, of empathy, of imagination.
“Sometimes we make entertainment, sometimes we make art. Sometimes we’re lucky, we make them both at the same time. And if we’re really fortunate, we also get to make a living doing it.”
He added: “Success in this business brings a certain freedom that comes with responsibility to support each other, to lift others up, to keep the door open for the next kid, the next lost boy who’s looking for a place to belong.
“I’m indeed a lucky guy, lucky to have found my people, lucky to have work that challenges me, lucky to still be doing it. I don’t take that for granted.”
Paying tribute to his wife of more than 15 years, the Ally McBeal actress Calista Flockhart, he concluded: “I want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart to my peers, to my extraordinary, beautiful wife, Calista, and my family, who have given me love and courage to do all of it, and thank you to SAG-AFTRA for honouring me with this prize. This is very encouraging.”
