How Much Money Has Harrison Ford Made from Acting?

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

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
YearMovie / TVRoleEstimated Earnings
1966Dead Heat on a Merry-Go-RoundMovie$10,000
1967A Time for KillingMovie$10,000
1967IronsideTV Series$3,000
1967LuvMovie$10,000
1967The VirginianTV Series$6,000
1968Journey to ShilohMovie$12,038
1968Mod SquadTV Series$3,000
1969Love, American StyleTV Series$3,000
1969My Friend TonyTV Series$3,000
1969The F.B.I.TV Series$6,000
1970Getting StraightMovie$10,000
1970The IntrudersTV Movie$30,000
1970Zabriskie PointMovie$10,000
1971Dan AugustTV Series$3,000
1972-1973GunsmokeTV Series$6,000
1973American GraffitiMovie$585,000
1974Kung FuTV Series$3,000
1974PetrocelliTV Series$3,000
1974The ConversationMovie$32,100
1975Judgment: The Court Martial of Lieutenant William CalleyTV Movie$30,000
1976DynastyTV Movie$30,000
1977HeroesMovie$177,500
1977Star Wars: Episode IV - A New HopeMovie$4,619,980
1977The PossessedTV Movie$30,000
1978Force 10 from NavaroneMovie$572,300
1978The Star Wars Holiday SpecialTV Movie$30,000
1979Apocalypse NowMovie$1,334,715
1979Hanover StreetMovie$530,000
1979More American GraffitiMovie$650,147
1979The Frisco KidMovie$593,462
1980Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes BackMovie$3,404,751
1981Raiders of the Lost ArkMovie$5,963,199
1982Blade RunnerMovie$1,657,379
1983Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the JediMovie$7,186,124
1984Indiana Jones and the Temple of DoomMovie$4,597,405
1985WitnessMovie$2,374,140
1986The Mosquito CoastMovie$1,286,056
1988FranticMovie$1,352,759
1988Working GirlMovie$2,275,590
1989Indiana Jones and the Last CrusadeMovie$4,943,436
1990Presumed InnocentMovie$2,726,064
1991Regarding HenryMovie$3,860,030
1992Patriot GamesMovie$4,667,032
1993The FugitiveMovie$6,677,515
1993The Young Indiana Jones ChroniclesTV Series$10,000
1994Clear and Present DangerMovie$6,665,632
1995Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Forbidden Eye RideShort$10,000
1995SabrinaMovie$4,610,162
1997Air Force OneMovie$8,188,692
1997The Devil's OwnMovie$4,286,050
1998Six Days Seven NightsMovie$5,230,179
1999Random HeartsMovie$3,945,077
2000What Lies BeneathMovie$9,218,574
2002K-19: The WidowmakerMovie$4,406,759
2003Hollywood HomicideMovie$4,237,628
2004Water to WineVideo short$10,000
2006FirewallMovie$5,950,048
2008Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal SkullMovie$16,684,045
2009Crossing OverMovie$4,022,783
2010Extraordinary MeasuresMovie$4,603,416
2010Morning GloryMovie$5,550,587
2011Cowboys & AliensMovie$10,012,028
201342Movie$9,751,011
2013Anchorman 2: The Legend ContinuesMovie$5,000,000
2013Ender's GameMovie$8,086,860
2013ParanoiaMovie$5,369,251
2014Nature Is SpeakingTV Series$10,000
2014The Expendables 3Movie$6,966,127
2015Star Wars: The Force AwakensMovie$24,183,311
2015The Age of AdalineMovie$7,131,489
2016Lego Star Wars: The Force AwakensVideo Game$10,000
2016The American Cinematheque Tribute to Ridley ScottTV Movie$30,000
1977-2016Other 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.

Sources:

IMDB Harrison Ford Acting Credits