The great Harrison Ford, a living legend in the entertainment industry, was honored for his incredible career achievements at the 32nd Annual Actor Awards on Sunday, March 1. And if thought you’d make it through his highlights reel and acceptance speech without shedding tears, you’re sorely mistaken!
Host Kristen Bell and SAG-AFTRA members gathered at the Shrine Auditorium & Expo Hall in Los Angeles to celebrate standout television series, films, and creatives from 2025 — including Ford, who received the Life Achievement Award at age 83 for his decades-long career and incredible work in film, television, and as a humanitarian.
The award — given to Jane Fonda, Barbra Streisand, and Sally Field in recent years — was presented by Ford’s friend Woody Harrelson. And after a moving look back at past roles including Star Wars, the Indiana Jones films, Blade Runner, 1923, Shrinking, and so many more, Ford went on to deliver an incredibly heartfelt speech.
Ford kissed wife Calista Flockhart then walked up to the stage to “The Raiders March” as he received a standing ovation from the room.
“I feel incredibly grateful for this kind attention. But to be clear, I 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. I’m here to receive a prize for being alive,” Ford began, before pulling out his signature humor. “That said, it’s a little weird to be getting a Lifetime Achievement Award at the half point of my career. It’s a little early, isn’t it? I’m still a working actor.”
After the audience stopped laughing, Ford thought back to the early days of his career. “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,” he explained. “Thank you, George Lucas. Thank you, Steven Spielberg. There were two other people who had a hand in guiding me through hard times: Fred Roos, casting director and producer for Francis Ford Coppola, and my manager for 30 years, Pat McQueeney. They were both incredibly persistent, and without their support of me at a time when I really needed it, I would not be here. They’re no longer with us, but it feels important that I thank them now. I feel them here tonight. They would be happy for me.”
Ford rewound even earlier in life, to his third year of college, when he admittedly felt a little lost. “I was failing at school. I felt isolated, alone, and then I found the company of people putting on plays, storytellers. People I once thought were misfits and geeks turned out to be my people. I found a calling, a life in storytelling, an identity in pretending to be other people,” he shared. “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, and every crew member I’ve ever been on a set with. I’ve had incredible collaborators at every step of the way, and being able to deliver the work we create together is to an audience. It’s an honor and a privilege, and because of that privilege, I’ve come to know myself.”
“Ours is a tough business to get into. In my case, it’s been a tough business to get out of. Thank God, because I love what I do. As actors, 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 they bring us together,” Ford continued. “So while we’re all at different stages of our lives and careers in this room, 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 if 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.”
Before concluding, Ford encouraged his fellow actors to help lift up the next generation of performers. “Success in this business brings a certain freedom that comes with responsibility to support each other, to lift others up when we can — to keep the door open for the next kid, the next lost boy who’s looking for a place to belong,” he said. “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, and I don’t take that for granted. I want to say thank you, truly, 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 through all of it, and Thank you to sag AFTRA for honoring me with this prize. This is very encouraging. Thank you.”
Ford’s film and television careers began in the 1960s, and six decades and 85 credits later the actor is delivering some of his greatest performances in Apple TV’s acclaimed grief comedy, Shrinking. His role as the Paul Rhoades, a curmudgeonly therapist battling Parkinson’s disease, earned him his first Primetime Emmy Award nomination last year for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. Decider has gone long about Ford’s brilliance in the series and his co-stars constantly praise him as an actor and a person. With the show’s third season currently airing, we’re reminded on a weekly basis of the heart, humor, and humanity he brings to each episode.
When celebrating Shrinking at Apple TV’s recent press day, Ford said, “If it was all over here, that would be sufficient for me… This has been very special for me and it really nurtures me and it makes me feel like what we’re doing has value and importance.” With Shrinking renewed for Season 4, we hope to see much more of Ford on our screens.
The 32nd Annual Actor Awards stream live Sunday, March 1, on Netflix.