Harrison Ford's birthday: 5 lesser-known facts about the legendary actor
Harrison Ford, the American actor best known for Indiana Jones and Star Wars, turned 81 on Thursday (July 13). In a career spanning over six decades, the actor has won several awards, including the AFI Life Achievement Award, Honorary César, Honorary Palme d'Or, and an Oscar nomination. While we know Ford best for his legendary works, here are some lesser-known facts about him.
A Philosophy major and aviation enthusiast
We love Ford for his roles in some of the best Hollywood sci-fi films of all time as well as great action films. But, did you know that Ford was a Philosophy major in college when he attended Ripon College in Wisconsin? He was also an aviation enthusiast and is a certified private pilot of both helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft.
Real-life hero: Ford has saved several people; here's how
Not just on the screen, but Ford seems to have become a real-life hero as well. As per reports, he saved several people, including a 13-year-old boy scout who got lost around Yellowstone National Park back in 2001. A year prior to that, Ford saved a female hiker in Wyoming's Table Mountain region. Both with his own helicopter and aviation skills.
Ford is a carpenter, too
Are you aware that once upon a time, before Ford got his acting break, he was a full-time carpenter? It was at this time that two of his clients who were writers featured Ford in a documentary. From this, a casting director landed him an audition which is where filmmaker George Lucas spotted him and later cast him as Han Solo in Star Wars.
Ants, spiders have been named after Ford
While celebrities have solar systems and planets named after them, Ford has the distinction of having two different animal species named after him. The actor, also an environmentalist, is the namesake of two species of ants and spiders. Back in 1993, a new species of spider was named Calponia harrisonfordi, and in 2002, a new ant species was named Pheidole harrisonfordi.
Not only Hollywood, he has starred in Japanese commercial, too!
Much to everyone's surprise, back in 2011, Ford appeared in a 30-second Japanese advertisement for Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception video game. He plays Nathan Drake, hanging out the back of a cargo plane and playing the game. Both the scene and the shooting are equally entertaining because the ad demonstrates how invested the actor is in the video game.
