Harrison Ford: Critics Choice Awards Career Achievement Award Speech

Screen legend Harrison Ford delivered a moving but brief speech upon accepting the Career Achievement Award at the Critics Choice Awards.

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny director James Mangold presented Ford with the award.

James Mangold on presenting the Career Achievement Award:

“The largest stars in the known universe are called variable hypergiants. Hypergiants are about 17 times larger than our sun. A hypergiant is so big that five billion of our suns can be contained within it and they’re so weighty that they pull other heavenly bodies toward them. Of course, Harrison Ford is a star. However, I submit tonight that he is a variable hypergiant. A star so big, he contains multitudes of stars, so unique he attracts other stars–a star so bright, he has warmed each of our lives in this room, in this audience, and likely on this planet.

“Think about this for a moment. American Graffiti, The Conversation, Apocalypse Now, Blade Runner, Witness, The Mosquito Coast, Working Girl, Air Force One, Presumed Innocent, Patriot Games, The Fugitive. It blows your mind. These are a smattering of his 55 feature films, thrillers, dramas, sci-fi, epics, mysteries, comedies. Movies in which–comedies? Why don’t they get to come on stage for comedies? Separate thing. Comedies. Movies in which Harrison has worked the art of building a character who’s both unforgettable and utterly human.

“Ponder the fact that I spit out that incredible, enviable list of films and performances without even mentioning Star Wars. He was in five of them, playing the charming Han Solo, who shaped all of our young lives–boys, at least, if not women as well. Or the five Indiana Jones films in which he portrayed the beloved titular character, an archeologist who pulls together contradictory notions of a fussy moralistic snake-phobic bookworm and a dashing adventurer with old school integrity. Harrison’s body of work is breathtaking. It is utterly timeless. It is authentic, deeply felt, masculine but vulnerable, often moving and frequently hilarious. His work has been wildly popular and critically revered, and it represents the voice of a singular artist. Take a brief look again at this variable hypergiant.”

A montage of Ford’s performances during his legendary career preceded his speech.

Harrison Ford on receiving the Career Achievement Award:

“Thank you very much. Thank you. I only have three minutes. First of all, I’m really happy to be here tonight to see what our business is turning into and all of the talented people who are getting opportunities that probably would not have existed in the early part of my career. I’m very happy about that.

“I am here because of a combination of luck and the work of wonderful directors, writers, filmmakers. I feel enormously lucky and happy for this honor and I appreciate it very much. I want to thank my lovely wife, Calista Flockhart, who supports me when I need a lot of support — and I need a lot of support. I’m grateful to all the fine actors — I see many of them here tonight — that I’ve worked with. I’m deeply happy to have had the opportunities that I’ve had and I’m grateful. Thank you. I won’t take any more of your time. Thank you.”