Harrison Ford is one of the biggest movie stars of all time, largely thanks to his performance as Indiana Jones, one of the most famous movie characters in history.
Ford, now 81, has been playing Indy since 1981’s Raiders of the Lost Ark, and is returning for a fifth film this summer, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, which the star says will be his final time he plays the role.
The new sequel premiered this week at Cannes — and Ford was given a very special surprise that left him holding back tears.
Dial of Destiny premiered yesterday at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival, and the film’s stars, including Ford, were in attendance.
Ford received a standing ovation as he arrived at the theater — and then was surprised with an honorary Palm d’Or for lifetime achievement.
A clip reel of Ford’s famous movies played, and even the famously gruff star couldn’t hold back tears.
“I’m very touched. I’m very moved by this,” Ford told the crowd, according to Euronews. “They say when you’re about to die, you, you see your life flash before your eyes. I just saw my life flash before my eyes.”
“You’ve given my life purpose and meaning and I’m grateful for that,” he told the audience.
“It felt … I can’t even tell you. It’s just extraordinary to see a kind of relic of your life as it passes by,” he later told reporters, per the Washington Post. “The warmth of this place, and the sense of community, the welcome is unimaginable. And it makes me feel good.”
Ford also reportedly teared up after the film screening as it received a five-minute standing ovation from the crowd.
While Ford is still going strong at 80 and has no plans to quit acting any time soon, he says he wants to retire as Indiana Jones and “round up the story” with the new fifth film.
“I need to sit down and rest a little bit,” Ford joked at a press conference, per People. “I love to work, and I love this character, and I love what it brought into my life, and that’s all I can say.”
“Everything has come together to support me in my old age, and I love the work. So I just want to work and I want to tell stories, good stories, and I have been so lucky in my life to have that opportunity.”
The new film — which will release in the US on June 30 — features a sequence in which Ford is digitally “de-aged” using AI, bringing Indiana Jones back to the way he looked in Raiders of the Lost Ark.
But Ford apparently doesn’t need any de-aging to make the ladies swoon: One female reporter reportedly told the actor he was still “hot,” especially in a scene where the actor takes his shirt off in the movie.
Ford appreciated the compliment: “I have been blessed with this body,” he said. “Thanks for noticing.”
Congrats to the incredible Harrison Ford on this well-deserved lifetime achievement honor! We can’t wait to see him play Indiana Jones one last time!
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- Harrison Ford pays heartfelt tribute to on-screen dad Sean Connery – “God, we had fun”
- Tom Selleck was the original choice to play Indiana Jones in ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’
