Hero at Home

July 25 1997
Daily Record
by Mary Black

The saviour of Princess Leia is just plain dad to Harrison Ford's family. He's the hero who saved Princess Leia in Star Wars and put archaeology on the movie map as whip-cracking Indiana Jones. But Harrison Ford's action man antics don't impress everyone. For he admits his two youngest kids don't think much of his on-screen heroics.

The 55-year-old superstar revealed: "My son Malcolm has surfboard maniacs and that sort of thing on his bedroom wall and my daughter Georgia doesn't have anybody on hers.

"They sure don't have me on their wall. They don't see me as Han Solo the hero because they know it's just dad."

Even his wife, screenwriter Melissa Mathison, doesn't fawn over his big-screen bravery.

Harrison chuckled: "My wife never calls me her hero. Well, hardly ever. My fame never intrudes because my life is about my family and my home."

Home is an 800-acre spread in Wyoming, which he designed himself and which includes a well-equipped workshop where he still practises his original joinery trade.

He said: "I plough the snow, fix fences, repair a shed. I like working with my hands, always have. We don't live an extravagant lifestyle at all."

But playing the hero has made Harrison Ford the most famous carpenter since Jesus of Nazareth - and the most sought-after action man in Hollywood.

His next film sees him play a kick-ass American President who saves the day in Air Force One.

Director Wolfgang Petersen admitted Ford was his first choice for the big-budget movie.

He said: "We needed an actor who was believable as both the head of the country and as a tough action hero. There are only two or three stars in the world who could do that convincingly."

Glenn Close co-stars as the vice-president with Brit star Gary Oldman as a Russian terrorist leader in the action-packed thriller.

It revolves around the hijacking of the most secure plane in the world while it is en route from Moscow to Washington with the President, his family and top advisors on board. Harrison admits he got a real kick out of the aeroplane adventure - because he's a flying nut who's just as likely to get behind the controls of a plane himself.

He recalled: "I realised I was getting a bit creaky, so I took up skiing and tennis and I really love them."

Now he says he's in tip-top shape, in spite of several injuries picked up during his film career.

He laughed: "One heals. I'm 55 today and I feel as good as I ever felt."

But while the years have brought Harrison success they've also brought him his share of emotional turmoil.

He blamed the pressure of stardom for his divorce from first wife Mary, with whom he has two grown-up sons.

And he admitted: "I'd love to have anonymity back.

"On the other hand, the biggest pleasure is having people come up and say: 'You've given me pleasure, thank you very much,' so it cuts both ways."

He added: "I don't know if becoming a father again changed me a lot. But it's reminded me that fatherhood is a fabulous experience.

"It's especially great when you're a bit older and a bit more mature. It's more fun to have kids when you're not a kid yourself.

"It's also made me realise just how important my wife and family are to me. Of course, my work and career are important too, but now I have more perspective."

Harrison admits he's bothered by the notion he's one of contemporary cinema's few true hero figures.

He said: "One doesn't play a hero. One plays a president or a person who's suffered an injury to their brain, or a person in one circumstance or another, but you don't set out to play a hero.

"You set out to play a person who finds themselves in a situation where more than a normal application is called for. And you overcome difficult odds.

"What I set out to play is somebody that the audience can relate to."

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