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Harrison Ford looks back on his filmography | 125518__harrisonford_starwars_l
HARRISON FLOWERS Ford teams up with ''Star'' warriors Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher
Star Wars: The Everett Collection

FORCE 10 FROM NAVARONE (1978)
After ''Star Wars,'' Ford was inundated with offers, including his first leading role, as Lieut. Col. Mike Barnsby in this WWII adventure. According to Ford, filming war was hell.

Ford: ''I was taken to dinner by the director [Guy Hamilton] the second week and told if I didn't do something interesting soon he was going to cut me out of the picture. It p---ed me off. There was nothing to work with. When they failed to produce the rewrite they were supposed to, I sent him a five-foot-long telex, which he never responded to. It was a pretty disappointing experience.''

THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK (1980)
RETURN OF THE JEDI (1983)
After lead roles in ''Hanover Street'' and ''The Frisco Kid'' and a small role in ''Apocalypse Now'' (all 1979 releases), Ford returned as Han Solo in the ''Star Wars'' sequel, directed by Irvin Kershner. Asked if he had a favorite of the three ''Star Wars'' films he made, Ford says, ''No.'' Maybe if Lucas had taken his radical suggestion for ''Jedi'' he would feel differently.

Ford: ''I remember George's consternation when I changed one little line [in 'Empire']. Han Solo is being lowered into the cryo-chamber, and Carrie Fisher says, 'I love you.' I was supposed to say, 'I love you too.' But I thought it was better if I did something more in character, so Kersh let me change it to 'I know.' But George was convinced it would get a bad laugh. He made me sit next to him when we tested it, and it got a laugh -- a good laugh. In 'Jedi,' I suggested to George that he kill Han. I said, 'Let him sacrifice himself and get some real emotion here.' He didn't agree.''

RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK (1981)
After ''Empire,'' Lucas turned to Ford to play a bullwhip-wielding archaeologist he and Steven Spielberg had concocted. (The role of Indiana Jones had originally been offered to Tom Selleck, but he couldn't break free from his TV series, ''Magnum, P.I.'') While shooting in Tunisia, Ford came down with dysentery. But the sick actor's desire to get the work done quickly helped yield at least one famous scene.

Ford: ''Steven had just started rehearsals on a fight scene that would take three days to shoot, which involved the black swordsman. I was sick, and besides, up to that point, I kept worrying about the fact that I had been wearing this gun that I had never drawn. So I said to Steven, 'Why don't we just shoot the sumbitch?' He said, 'Okay.' He was ready to get out of there too. That's how we got that scene.''

BLADE RUNNER (1982)
In time, Ridley Scott's sci-fi noir, starring Ford as a cop who hunts renegade androids, would become one of the most visually influential films in history. In 1982, though, it was a flop. Even more disappointing to Scott and Ford were studio-mandated changes, such as a much-reviled voice-over. Legend has it Ford purposely sabotaged it.

Ford: ''That's not exactly correct. I had already done it four times -- different versions that tested horribly. I finally found myself in the recording booth with a guy who identified himself as 'the writer.' I said, 'Hi, I'm Harrison Ford.' He just waved, like, 'Get out of here, I'm working.' I thought, F--- this. When he gave me the [script], I said, 'I'm just going to read each speech six times, then it's your choice.' They used possibly the worst.''


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