Harrison Ford looked back on his iconic career as he received the SAG-AFTRA Life Achievement Award during the 2026 Actor Awards.
The Shrinking star, 83, accepted the honor from with a moving speech during the Sunday, March 1, ceremony at the Shrine Auditorium and Expo Hall in Los Angeles.
“I feel incredibly grateful for this kind of attention, but to be clear, I also am quite humbled. I’m in a room with actors, many of whom are here because they’ve been nominated to receive a prize for their amazing work, while I’m here to receive a prize for being alive,” Ford emotionally began. “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.”
Ford further acknowledged his history as a performer.
“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, [and] thank you, Steven Spielberg,” he said. “In my third year of college, I was a little lost. I was failing at school, I felt isolated and alone, and then I found a 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. 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, every crew member I’ve ever been on a set with.”
Ford also gushed about his “incredible collaborators at every step” of his journey.
“Being able to deliver the work that we create together to an audience is an honor and a privilege, and because of that privilege, I’ve come to know myself,” he continued. “Ours is a tough business to get into, [and] in my case it’s been a tough business to get out of — thank God, ’cause I love what I do. As actors we get to live many lives, we get to explore many ideas that are firm and elevate our shared experience.”
Ford added, “The stories we tell have a unique capacity to create moments of emotional connection. They bring us together, 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, we’re lucky, we get to make both at the same time. And if we’re really fortunate, we also get to make a living doing it.”
Ford further revealed how “lucky” he feels to live his dreams.
“I’m indeed a lucky guy, lucky to have found my people, lucky to have work that challenges me and lucky to be still doing it. I don’t take that for granted,” he said. “I want to say thank you, truly, from the bottom of my heart to my peers, to my extraordinary, beautiful wife, Calista [Flockhart], 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.”
SAG-AFTRA announced Ford as the latest recipient of the Life Achievement Award in December 2025.
“Harrison Ford is a singular presence in American life; an actor whose iconic characters have shaped world culture. His career has been endlessly exciting, always returning to his love of acting,” SAG-AFTRA president Sean Astin said in a statement at the time. “We are honored to celebrate a legend whose impact on our craft is indelible.”
In his own statement, Ford added, “I am deeply honored to be chosen as this year’s recipient of the SAG-AFTRA Life Achievement Award. To be acknowledged by my fellow actors means a great deal to me. I’ve spent most of my life on film sets, working alongside incredible actors and crews, and I’ve always felt grateful to be part of this community.”
Ford joins the ranks of previous SAG-AFTRA Life Achievement Award recipients such as Clint Eastwood, James Earl Jones, Dick Van Dyke, Carol Burnett, Robert De Niro, Helen Mirren, Sally Field, Barbra Streisand and Jane Fonda.
Ford is known for his legendary roles as Han Solo in the Star Wars franchise and the titular archaeologist in the Indiana Jones franchise. His other notable films include 1982’s Blade Runner, 1985’s Witness, 1992’s Patriot Games, 1993’s The Fugitive and 1997’s Air Force One.
More recently, Ford has made his mark on the television industry, starring on the Paramount+ series 1923 from 2022 to 2025 and the Apple TV show Shrinking since 2023.
Despite his lengthy list of acting credits, Ford has yet to costar with wife Calista Flockhart, whom he has been married to since June 2010.
“That’s just the circumstantial reality where we haven’t been offered something where we’d work together,” he exclusively told Us Weekly in February 2025, adding that he would “love to work” with Flockhart, 61, if the right opportunity came along.
Ford also revealed that his current role on Shrinking allows him to enjoy more quality time with his family. (He is the father of sons Ben, 59, and Willard, 56, with ex-wife Mary Marquardt, son Malcolm, 38, and daughter Georgia, 35, with late ex-wife Melissa Mathison and son Liam, 25, with Flockhart.)
“This is the best job I’ve ever had,” he explained. “I live half an hour away. I go home and I sleep in my own bed. I’m in the same town as my wife and children and I’m doing really smart, intelligent storytelling with incredibly talented people.”
