film, Cowboys & Aliens, an unlikely hybrid of a
western and an alien-invasion movie that he’s hoping
will be a hit. He was thrilled to grow some stubble for the
movie, put on a dirty hat, and gallop across the glorious
New Mexico range. “Nothing better,” he says, laughing.
Director Jon Favreau says Ford was perfect for the part
of ornery rancher Colonel Woodrow Dolarhyde, who rules
the 1875 desert town of Absolution with an iron fist. “Har-
rison is like John Wayne in the autumn of his career,” says
Favreau. “In movies like The Searchers and True Grit, Wayne
was always giving a younger man a run for his money.”
In this case the younger man is Daniel Craig, the film’s
principal star. “I give enormous credit to Daniel,” says Ford.
“He gave me the room in his movie to make a part that was
probably as much fun to play as any I’ve ever had.” Ford
claims somewhat convincingly that it’s liberating to hand
off the leading-man baton. “The leading man has a special
responsibility to carry the audience. I can just dodge in, and
that’s wonderful.”
On the set, Ford regaled the cast—including Sam Rockwell,
Paul Dano, and Olivia Wilde—with his war stories. Despite
assorted orthopedic issues from a career’s worth of run-
ning, jumping, and falling down, he rode as hard as anyone.
“Harrison was in better shape than any of us,” says Wilde.
“He’s ripped.”
In his personal life, say Ford’s friends, he’s never seemed
happier. Last year he married actress Calista Flockhart,
46, his sweetheart of 10 years. Together they are raising
her 10-year-old son, Liam. “Yeah, I’m his dad,” says Ford
with obvious affection. Though he would rather live in
Wyoming, domesticity and parenthood have grounded him
in Los Angeles, where Flockhart appears in the television
series Brothers & Sisters and Liam is enrolled in school.
Ford’s stable home life allows him to satisfy his need for
adventure more than ever. In 1995 he fulfilled a lifelong
dream of earning his pilot’s license. “I wanted to see whether
I could learn something new,” he says, “especially something
really challenging on a technical level that requires hands-on
skills.” He completed rigorous training for both fixed-wing
aircraft and helicopters, and has logged some 4,500 hours
in the air. Today his fleet includes a chopper, a 1929 open-
cockpit plane, and a transatlantic jet. Ford flies himself to
movie locations, transports his family on vacations, and has
made many transatlantic flights. “Flying absolutely rein-
vented my life,” he says. As a pilot he can reclaim a measure
of privacy, escaping the paparazzi who hound celebrities in
public airports. Piloting also allows him to sidestep special
treatment—the aspect of fame he most dislikes. “When
I’m flying, I’ve got to do it according to the rules, just like
everybody else,” he says. “I’m not cut any slack for any other
reason. I’m just another pilot. I love it.”
And aviation has opened up a world far from the insularity
of Hollywood. Ford has been active with Young Eagles (an
organization that exposes children to the magic of flight),
giving hundreds of kids rides in his planes. He also embarks
on rescue and humanitarian missions. In 2000, as a member
of Wyoming’s Teton County Search and Rescue Volunteers,
he saved a dehydrated hiker stranded in the mountains; the
young woman was stunned when Indiana Jones swooped
down in his Bell 407 helicopter. The following year Ford
rescued a 13-year-old Boy Scout who had wandered off
a trail and spent a rainy night lost in the wilderness near
Yellowstone National Park. Though the boy didn’t get Ford’s
autograph, he told his friends he got something better: a hug.
After the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, Ford flew doctors and
supplies to the remote town of Hinche, buzzing the airstrip
to clear it of goats and chickens before circling back to land.
Rather than tour devastated areas trailed by news crews,
Ford kept a low profile. “It was a small contribution,” he says.
As a longtime environmentalist, how does he justify
burning so much jet fuel? “Although I have eight airplanes,”
he quips, “I fly only one at a time.” Turning serious, he
gestures to the Citation and says, “I have the most efficient
engine on my airplane that you can possibly have.” For
the past 20 years Ford has offset his carbon footprint with
efforts on behalf of Conservation International, an environmental nonprofit. As the organization’s vice chair, he meets
with CEOs and international leaders. “He has extraordinary intellectual capability and applies it intensively so that
we can be effective around the world,” says Conservation
International CEO Peter Seligmann. Example: Ford has
helped the organization persuade Walmart to sell more
sustainable food products. (CONTINUED ON PAGE 88)
IN A BOX OFFICE
FAR, FAR AWAY
F
according to his friends and business associates. “I just
want to make good movies that people want to go see,” he
says. “I hate making movies that people don’t go to.”
