Harrison Ford was born into the entertainment industry to radio actress Dorothy Nidelman and former actor turned advertising executive Christopher Ford. Ford became enamored with acting after taking an class in college to overcome his shyness and would contribute to one season of Summer Stock with the Belfry players. After dropping out of college, Ford moved to California and signed a contract with Columbia Pictures, through their “new talent” program which would offer $150 per week for bit parts in movies. After landing a few uncredited roles, Ford switched gears to television series with Universal Pictures and had minor roles in several popular shows including but not limited to Gunsmoke, The F.B.I, and Kung-Fu.

Throughout the 70s, Ford would earn himself small roles in bigger films including American Graffiti and Apocalypse Now. His big break would eventually come in 1977 when George Lucas cast him as Han Solo in Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope. He would go on to reprise the role as Solo for the next two installments of the original Star Wars trilogy, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, before returning to the character once more in The Force Awakens. The actor further cemented his status as a leading man with his role as the iconic Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark. The Indiana Jones franchise would spawn 3 sequels, Temple of Doom, The Last Crusade, and Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. The fifth installment Indiana Jones 5 is scheduled for release in June 2023.

Related: Indiana Jones 5: Why Steven Spielberg Decided Not to Direct the Movie

10 Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

A scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark
Paramount Pictures

A chance introduction to media mogul George Lucas in the ’70s would change the face of Harrison Ford’s career forever as he would eventually go on to star in two major franchises associated with Lucas, Indiana Jones and Star Wars. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom is the second installment in the action-adventure franchise and follows the iconic archeologist on his quest for the mystical Sankara Stone which is said to curse all who encounter it. While there really isn’t a bad Indiana Jones movie, Temple of Doom ranks lower on his list of best action movies because of the xenophobic portrayal of South Indian culture, per Little White Lies, and the significantly darker tone of the film, which deviates from the other films in the franchise.

9 Blade Runner

A still from Blade Runner starring Harrison Ford
The Ladd Company

Blade Runner is a dystopian science fiction film based on Phillip K. Dick's novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?. It chronicles a futuristic Los Angeles wherein bioengineered human beings or “replicants” are exploited to work on space colonies. When a group of rogue replicants returns to earth, reluctant police officer Rick Deckard (Ford) agrees to pursue them. Blade Runner was initially released to a lackluster response, but has since been deemed one of the best science fiction films of all time.

8 Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

Harrison Ford and Sean Connery in Indiana Jones Last Crusade
Paramount Pictures

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is one of Harrison Ford’s best action movies because of the chemistry between Ford and his onscreen father Sean Connery. The witty father and son banter between the two is enough to keep audiences coming back for more. Further to that, the action heats up as Indy, or "Junior" as his dad calls him, is once again battling the Nazis. This time, it is to rescue his father who mysteriously went missing on his hunt for the infamous Holy Grail.

7 Frantic

Harrison Ford in the movie Frantic
Warner Bros.

In a movie reminiscent of his future film The Fugitive, Frantic sees Dr. Richard Walker (Ford) searching for answers about the disappearance of his wife Sondra, who goes missing from their Paris hotel room after mistakenly switching suitcases with someone at the airport. Upon arriving at their hotel, Sondra gets a phone call while Richard is in the shower and disappears shortly thereafter. After seeking help from both the police and the embassy and getting nothing but bureaucracy, Richard enlists the help of a drug smuggler he meets on the street who has his wife’s suitcase.

6 Clear and Present Danger

Clear and Present Danger (1994) by Phillip Noyce
Paramount Pictures

Before John Krasinski filled the shoes of CIA operative Jack Ryan, a slew of other actors, outlined by USA Today, held the title, including Harrison Ford, who is the only actor to have reprised the role in a second film. The second film is 1994’s Clear and Present Danger, which shows Ryan facing off against a Colombian drug cartel and a double agent plotting to annihilate an American black-ops team. Clear and Present Danger is one of Ford’s best action movies as it improves upon the formula introduced in the earlier Jack Ryan films, The Hunt for Red October (starring Alec Baldwin as Ryan) and Patriot Games.

Related: Jack Ryan: Every Movie in the Action Franchise, Ranked

5 Air Force One

Harrison Ford in Air Force One
Sony Pictures Releasing

Air Force One is one of Harrison Ford’s best action movies as it follows the formula of one of the most popular action films of all time: Die Hard. Air Force One is basically Die Hard… on a plane. Ford stars as the fictional President of the United States James Marshall. After taking a public vow in Moscow to never negotiate with terrorists, Marshall and his family board Air Force One for their return to the U.S. The flight is promptly hijacked by a terrorist group that demands the release of General Radek a neo-Soviet dictator. Unbeknownst to terrorist leader Egor Korshunov (Gary Oldman), the POTUS hides in the cargo hold and stealthily kills off the invaders one by one to save his family and civilians. Even if one has not seen the movie, they are most likely familiar with Ford’s classic line “Get off my plane”.

4 Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope

harrison-fords-best-action-movies-ranked
Lucasfilm

In his breakthrough role as space-pirate Han Solo, Ford steals the show as the captain of the Millennium Falcon who teams up with the Rebel Alliance to restore justice in the galaxy. Despite originally being hired to help with auditions (as Lucas wanted fresh faces in the film), Ford eventually won over Lucas and the role who had stiff competition at the time. Other actors who were considered for Solo were Kurt Russell, Christopher Walken, Bill Murray, and Chevy Chase. A New Hope is one of Ford’s best action movies as it is undeniably the movie that made him a star.

3 Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back

harrison-fords-best-action-movies-ranked
Lucasfilm

Ford reprises his role for the second installment of the original Star Wars trilogy The Empire Strikes Back, wherein Ford’s Solo is frozen in carbonite and kidnapped by legendary bounty hunter Boba Fett. The darker of the three movies in the trilogy, Empire’s now-famous final scene in the medical bay where the Rebel Alliance regroups to hatch a plan to save Solo was never intended to be in the movie. According to a tweet by Mark Hamill, “Filmed 4 months after we wrapped principal photography on #ESB, it wasn't a "re-shoot", it was an added scene. "Concerned about the downbeat ending & thorough defeat of the protagonists, they wanted to add an uplifting moment of hope & rejuvenation to reassure the audience."

2 The Fugitive

Ford in The Fugitive
Warner Bros.

In one of Harrison Ford’s best action movies, Ford plays vascular surgeon Dr. Richard Kimble who is wrongfully convicted for his wife’s murder. En route to prison, some of the other inmates hatch a prison escape plan that goes awry, leading to the destruction of the prison bus in a spectacular scene that features a real-life train wreck. Once free, Kimble goes on the lam determined to find the “one-armed man” responsible for his wife’s brutal death. He is quickly pursued by equally ambitious Senior Deputy U.S. Marshall Samuel Gerard (Tommy Lee Jones). The Fugitive is widely regarded as one of the best action movies of the 90s and sees Ford at the top of his game.

1 Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark

Indiana Jones
Via: Lucasfilm Ltd.

Raiders of the Lost Ark is the most iconic action-adventure movie of all time, not to mention one of the greatest films ever made — how could it not also be Ford’s best action film? The first in the franchise, it follows the famed archeologist on his quest to recover a lost relic said to hold the power of invincibility known as the Ark of the Covenant. Laying the groundwork for the would-be third installment The Last Crusade, Jones faces off against Dr. Rene Belloq and German Nazi forces who also seek the relic for far more nefarious reasons.