Harrison Ford will turn 81 in July, but he clearly has no plans to slow down.
The actor, who stars in the fifth and final installment of the classic “Indiana Jones” film franchise, which will premiere later this month, said that although things have been getting tougher for him as he gets older, he’s also glad to be his age.
“I don’t want to be young again,” he plainly told People Magazine in a new interview. “I was young, and now I enjoy being old.”
“You are certainly physically diminished by age,” he explained, “but there are wonderful things about age — richness of experience, the full weight of all the time you’ve been spending getting to being old — and there’s a certain ease in it for me.”
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Harrison Ford doesn’t mind getting older. (Laurent KOFFEL)
Another thing that comes easy to Ford is being a movie star.
He said, “I am very gratified that I still have the opportunities that I have to work, and I owe that to the audience.”
Although he’s undeniably one of the most famous leading men in Hollywood history, he said that he never expected or necessarily desired the level of fame he’s achieved.
Harrison Ford is resuming his iconic role in the fifth installment of “Indiana Jones.” (Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Disney)
“No one ever believes this, but I never wanted to be rich and famous,” Ford insisted. “I just wanted to be an actor.”
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He continued, “I never thought that I would be a leading man. I really was just hoping I could make a living as an actor and not have to supplement my income with some other side hustle.”
“I thought I would be lucky to have a character part on a regular TV show.”
Harrison Ford is grateful to be an actor. (Jerod Harris/Getty Images for Paramount+)
Despite never expecting to be in the position he’s created for himself over the years, he definitely appreciates it.
“I probably enjoy making movies more now than I ever did,” he said.
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One of the movies he’s made recently is of course “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” the first movie featuring Ford’s famous character since 2008’s “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.”
On his decision to return to the franchise, he said, “I wanted to see him rally for one last adventure.”
Harrison Ford’s last appearance as Indiana Jones will be in the fifth installment of the franchise. (LucasFilm)
Earlier this year, he said in an interview with Total Film magazine, “This is the final film in the series, and this is the last time I’ll play the character. I anticipate that it will be the last time that he appears in a film.”
While he won’t be picking up Indy’s iconic bullwhip again, he’s still incredibly grateful for everything the series, along with all of his other legendary roles, has given him.
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When speaking about receiving the Palme d’Or for lifetime achievement award at the Cannes Film Festival ahead of the premiere, he said, “I was just trying to keep myself composed. There was very generous applause from the crowd [and] it was positive and humbling and nice.”
