Harrison Ford acting income of $228,957,426 in pre-tax dollars comes from dozens of roles in his 50 year career. Ford has acted in 72 films, TV movies and TV shows since 1966. He has also racked up 246 credits for appearances as himself on shows like Late Night with Jimmy Fallon or its distant ancestor Late Night with Johnny Carson. Since many of those credits are actually for multiple appearances on the same show, that number is actually considerably higher. The table below calculates Ford’s earnings for each acting role over the years.
Ford’s best known role is as the legendary pilot Han Solo in the Star Wars franchise. Ford famously earned only $10,000 for the original 1977 movie Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. However, a clause in the actor’s contract that gave him a percentage of profits later bumped his earnings for the film well up into the millions.
Harrison Ford Acting Money by Role
Harrison Ford acting earnings top $228 million. Ford earned an estimated $6.9 million for “Expendables 3.”
The table below shows Harrison Ford acting money estimates for each role. Full disclosure: Ford is a private citizen and therefore doesn’t have to share his earnings with the public. The numbers in the table below are based on known data for how much actors generally earn for various roles. Figure are adjusted for Ford’s level of fame during each year. Ford’s acting pay per film starts out at $10,000 for a minor role back in 1966 and $3,000 for each role in a TV show. We also added a small percentage of sales estimate based on reports from industry analysts.
Ford’s Acting Income Calculations
1977’s Star Wars put Ford’s star permanently in the celebrity firmament. Based on that, we bumped our per-film estimate up to $500,000 and increased his probable percentage slightly. 1981’s Raiders of the Lost Ark forms the benchmark for yet another boost to Ford’s estimated base pay, which bumps Ford to $1 million per film. Other base pay increases include a jump to $3 million in 1991, $4 million in 2006 and $5 million in 2011. We also gradually increased Ford’s box office revenue share to 5% by 2009. We used reported box office revenue figures for each film to figure Ford’s estimated percentage cut.
Harrison Ford Net Worth from Acting | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Movie / TV | Role | Estimated Earnings |
| 1966 | Dead Heat on a Merry-Go-Round | Movie | $10,000 |
| 1967 | A Time for Killing | Movie | $10,000 |
| 1967 | Ironside | TV Series | $3,000 |
| 1967 | Luv | Movie | $10,000 |
| 1967 | The Virginian | TV Series | $6,000 |
| 1968 | Journey to Shiloh | Movie | $12,038 |
| 1968 | Mod Squad | TV Series | $3,000 |
| 1969 | Love, American Style | TV Series | $3,000 |
| 1969 | My Friend Tony | TV Series | $3,000 |
| 1969 | The F.B.I. | TV Series | $6,000 |
| 1970 | Getting Straight | Movie | $10,000 |
| 1970 | The Intruders | TV Movie | $30,000 |
| 1970 | Zabriskie Point | Movie | $10,000 |
| 1971 | Dan August | TV Series | $3,000 |
| 1972-1973 | Gunsmoke | TV Series | $6,000 |
| 1973 | American Graffiti | Movie | $585,000 |
| 1974 | Kung Fu | TV Series | $3,000 |
| 1974 | Petrocelli | TV Series | $3,000 |
| 1974 | The Conversation | Movie | $32,100 |
| 1975 | Judgment: The Court Martial of Lieutenant William Calley | TV Movie | $30,000 |
| 1976 | Dynasty | TV Movie | $30,000 |
| 1977 | Heroes | Movie | $177,500 |
| 1977 | Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope | Movie | $4,619,980 |
| 1977 | The Possessed | TV Movie | $30,000 |
| 1978 | Force 10 from Navarone | Movie | $572,300 |
| 1978 | The Star Wars Holiday Special | TV Movie | $30,000 |
| 1979 | Apocalypse Now | Movie | $1,334,715 |
| 1979 | Hanover Street | Movie | $530,000 |
| 1979 | More American Graffiti | Movie | $650,147 |
| 1979 | The Frisco Kid | Movie | $593,462 |
| 1980 | Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back | Movie | $3,404,751 |
| 1981 | Raiders of the Lost Ark | Movie | $5,963,199 |
| 1982 | Blade Runner | Movie | $1,657,379 |
| 1983 | Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi | Movie | $7,186,124 |
| 1984 | Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom | Movie | $4,597,405 |
| 1985 | Witness | Movie | $2,374,140 |
| 1986 | The Mosquito Coast | Movie | $1,286,056 |
| 1988 | Frantic | Movie | $1,352,759 |
| 1988 | Working Girl | Movie | $2,275,590 |
| 1989 | Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade | Movie | $4,943,436 |
| 1990 | Presumed Innocent | Movie | $2,726,064 |
| 1991 | Regarding Henry | Movie | $3,860,030 |
| 1992 | Patriot Games | Movie | $4,667,032 |
| 1993 | The Fugitive | Movie | $6,677,515 |
| 1993 | The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles | TV Series | $10,000 |
| 1994 | Clear and Present Danger | Movie | $6,665,632 |
| 1995 | Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Forbidden Eye Ride | Short | $10,000 |
| 1995 | Sabrina | Movie | $4,610,162 |
| 1997 | Air Force One | Movie | $8,188,692 |
| 1997 | The Devil's Own | Movie | $4,286,050 |
| 1998 | Six Days Seven Nights | Movie | $5,230,179 |
| 1999 | Random Hearts | Movie | $3,945,077 |
| 2000 | What Lies Beneath | Movie | $9,218,574 |
| 2002 | K-19: The Widowmaker | Movie | $4,406,759 |
| 2003 | Hollywood Homicide | Movie | $4,237,628 |
| 2004 | Water to Wine | Video short | $10,000 |
| 2006 | Firewall | Movie | $5,950,048 |
| 2008 | Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull | Movie | $16,684,045 |
| 2009 | Crossing Over | Movie | $4,022,783 |
| 2010 | Extraordinary Measures | Movie | $4,603,416 |
| 2010 | Morning Glory | Movie | $5,550,587 |
| 2011 | Cowboys & Aliens | Movie | $10,012,028 |
| 2013 | 42 | Movie | $9,751,011 |
| 2013 | Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues | Movie | $5,000,000 |
| 2013 | Ender's Game | Movie | $8,086,860 |
| 2013 | Paranoia | Movie | $5,369,251 |
| 2014 | Nature Is Speaking | TV Series | $10,000 |
| 2014 | The Expendables 3 | Movie | $6,966,127 |
| 2015 | Star Wars: The Force Awakens | Movie | $24,183,311 |
| 2015 | The Age of Adaline | Movie | $7,131,489 |
| 2016 | Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens | Video Game | $10,000 |
| 2016 | The American Cinematheque Tribute to Ridley Scott | TV Movie | $30,000 |
| 1977-2016 | Other Appearances (246 credits) | TV Series | $2,460,000 |
| Total Harrison Ford Net Worth from Acting | $228,957,426 |
Ford’s Net Worth
To see how these earnings figure into Ford’s full financial picture, see our post on Harrison Ford’s net worth. The figures in this article are based on known figures and percentages from other actors and studio deals. No exact knowledge of Harrison Ford acting earnings is implied.
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