NOT many shopping days left now before the new Indiana Jones adventure hits our screens on May 22 and anyone thinking that there might be less action because our hero is now 65, think again. Indy star Harrison Ford is fighting fit and still doing lots of stunts. 

“What has age got to do with anything?” he says. “I don’t like it when people are put into categories because of their age. I am ready for more action but I’ll know when to stop. People don’t want to see their action men walking with a stick so when that happens I’ll become more benign. At the moment I feel great and even if I am breathing a little heavier after the latest piece of action, I’m still doing it. The most important thing is that the leather jacket still fits.”

Not that Harrison plays up any action hero image himself — if anything he is a reluctant hero. He was born in Chicago on July 13, 1942, to an Irish father and a mother who was a Russian Jew. His parents didn’t push him to achieve anything other than to be happy and to do his best at whatever he chose as his career.

“I didn’t really know what I wanted to do,” he says. “At school I was a pretty miserable student and to be truthful I only turned to acting as a way of meeting girls. It was certainly not a career move. I had no idea what to do with myself before acting. My father was a radio actor so that interested me a little.”

The acting did gain a hold on Harrison though and he moved to Los Angeles to be nearer the hub of film and television. Not that Hollywood greeted him with open arms and a string of engagements.

“I worked in a pizzeria and a department store and did various things while I was trying to get parts,” he explains. “I didn’t seem to be getting anywhere. There was a period of about eight years when I had only three jobs as an actor.” Brief appearances on shows like Gunsmoke, The Virginian and Ironside didn’t provide him with the big breakthrough he was seeking and when he was told that he didn’t really have what it takes to become a star he virtually gave up and became a self-taught carpenter.

“It was a tough time. I used to get discouraged in the early days about the opportunities I was getting or not getting. Looking back, I think it was for the best. I got a lot of experience under my belt from doing very little. I did learn about scripts and how to read one for quality and structure rather than just how much it was worth in financial terms.”

A chance part in American Graffiti in 1973 put him back on track but he didn’t give up his carpentry, especially since he discovered a hidden talent and proved to be a master craftsman at the trade without needing any formal training. His carpentry is rather like his acting.

“No, I never had any formal training as an actor,” he says. “I just did what came naturally. Being an actor is quite like playing the pretend games that you played as a child. I just do what I think is right. Some people are method actors. I just act.”

It was another four years before he was given a major role again. George Lucas, who had directed American Graffiti, remembered him when he was looking for someone to play Han Solo in Star Wars.

“It was a great opportunity and it was nice to be remembered,” says Harrison. “I don’t think anybody realised that this was going to be the start of something quite so immense. It didn’t really register with me at the time. It took another four years before the next really big part came along.”

That part was as Indiana Jones in Raiders Of The Lost Ark.

“It was a great adventure story and terrific to make. I had appeared in various films during the previous few years but this one was very big and suddenly I found myself being recognised much more. Han Solo had given me a great career boost but Indiana Jones reached an even wider audience.

“Old ladies used to come up to me and ask if I was Harrison Ford. I used to say no and that I just look like him. Then I decided that it was a little unfair of me to do that, so I started saying yes. Most of them didn’t believe me and thought I was just trying to exploit the fact that I looked like him!”

The 1980s proved to be Harrison’s coming of age, career-wise. Star Wars had two sequels and Indiana Jones also strode out on two more adventures. The unusual Blade Runner, Witness, Frantic and Harrison’s personal favourite, Mosquito Coast were also released.

“I don’t know why I especially like that one. I think it’s because it was a departure from what I had been doing. There was a strong cast of very good actors, great direction and it was a good, strong storyline.”

In Patriot Games and its sequel Clear And Present Danger, he was once again a reluctant man of action as indeed he was in the much acclaimed The Fugitive. But is he really a daredevil?

“I don’t think so,” he says. “I run, I jump, I fall down but that’s as far as it goes. Very experienced and clever stuntmen do the dangerous things. That’s what they’re good at.”

Harrison learned about stunts the hard way early in his career when he lost two teeth as a result of falling face-first on the hard metal of a gun. The nearest thing he came to a stunt after that was nothing to do with filming. He lost control of his car while trying to do up his safety belt on the move. The result was a scar, which is there for all to see on his chin. 

Harrison is an action man in the air though and owns six aircraft, including a helicopter in which he has been known to fly paying customers to raise funds for charity. Needless to say he is fully qualified to fly each of his own aircraft. Sarah George, a 20-year-old hiker, was very glad to see him a few years ago when she got into difficulties and started suffering from dehydration on Table Mountain near his 800-acre Wyoming ranch. Harrison personally flew his helicopter to her rescue. 

“I like flying. It’s great to be up in the air looking down on everything,” he says. “You get a different view of how beautiful everything is when you see it from above. It’s also a much quicker form of travel and I can pretty well arrange my own timetable.”

The white ranch house in Wyoming is a retreat he built himself. He has another home in New York.

The films have come thick and fast and even though some have been violent, he’s turned down a number of others because he doesn’t like excessive violence. 

With such a busy schedule, it’s a wonder that Harrison has any time for hobbies or family.

“You have to make time. I still like to do some carpentry and I love my flying. Being up there on my own is just so relaxing.”

Part of his charm seems to be that he’s very down to earth. Film director Andrew Davis went on record as saying that Harrison Ford is probably the easiest person he’s ever worked with.

However, Harrison does have a reputation for being grumpy sometimes but that is usually when people try to pry into his private life or annoy him with silly questions. Other than that he’s very easygoing and doesn’t at all see himself as a Hollywood superstar.

You know you have arrived when someone names a breed of spider after you.

“I think that was because of the Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom movie,” he recalls. “We had a few spiders and other kinds of crawly things in that and they made quite an impact. A spider expert discovered a new species and decided to name it after me. That was very flattering — I think.”

And are we likely to see more of Harrison as the all-action adventure hero?

“Well, I was once misquoted as saying that I was getting too old for action movies. What I did say was that I was getting tired of action movies and I have said that regularly, usually when I have just finished making one. You change your mind after a rest. I am still pretty fit, so don’t write me off yet. I am definitely up for the return of Indiana Jones. I can still run, jump and fall over and that is basically what I have to do to be Indiana.

“After all, who is Indiana Jones? He is a guy sporting a whip, who’s usually off some place really hot in his leather jacket and getting into trouble. You can get into trouble at any age. There’s something about Indiana that I guess is a good fit for me, because the minute I put the costume on, I recognise the tone that we need, and I feel confident and clear about the character.”

Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull was filmed in the States. The story is set in 1957, and this time Indiana goes up against cold-blooded Cold War Soviets — led by Cate Blanchett — instead of the Nazis he overcame in previous instalments. Making a return alongside Harrison is Karen Allen as Marion Ravenwood, as well as Jim Broadbent, John Hurt, Ray Winstone and Shia LaBoeuf. 

So will there be more Indiana Jones adventures?
“Maybe or maybe not. We don’t know, except that all things are possible,” he says.

One thing is certain though. Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull promises to live up to expectations. And no matter how much Harrison Ford plays down his own profile, he’s no ordinary hero.