Harrison Ford did his best to hold back tears when delivering an emotional speech at the Actor Awards.
The legendary American actor, 83, was honoured with the Life Achievement Award at this year’s ceremony, which was held in Los Angeles overnight.
Formerly known as the SAG Awards, the event is the last major awards ceremony ahead of the Oscars, with winners voted for by fellow actors.
The award given to Ford singles out performers who foster the ‘finest ideals of the acting profession’, with the most recent honourees including Jane Fonda, Barbra Streisand and Sally Field.
When it came time to speak about the honour, Ford left the room in tears, whilst also struggling to hold back his own.
‘I feel incredibly grateful for this kind attention. But to be clear, I also am quite humbled,’ he began, before joking: ‘That said, it is a little weird to be receiving a lifetime achievement award at the half point of my career. It’s a little weird, isn’t it? I’m still a working actor!’
Ford – who has nearly 90 acting credits to his name – then quipped that he was at the event to ‘receive a prize for being alive’.
His eight-minute-long speech then took an emotional turn, with the actor sharing: ‘Sometimes we make entertainment; sometimes we make art. Sometimes we’re lucky to make ‘em both at the same time, and if we’re really fortunate, we also get to make a living doing it.
‘Success in this business brings a certain freedom that comes with responsibility to support each other, to lift others up when we can, to keep the door open for the next kid, the next lost boy who’s looking for a place to belong,’ he continued.
‘I’m indeed a lucky guy. Lucky to have found my people, lucky to have work that challenges me, lucky to still be doing it. And I don’t take that for granted.’
After detailing how he was ‘not an overnight success’ and had ‘struggled for about 15 years going from acting job to carpentry and back to acting’ until securing a role in Star Wars, he then went on to thank his ‘peers and extraordinary beautiful wife Calista and my family’ whom he said had ‘given me love and courage through all of it’. He also thanked Sag-Aftra for ‘honouring me with this prize’.
During his speech Ford also singled out George Lucas, Steven Spielberg and the late casting director Fred Roos and his former manager Patricia McQueeny for their impacts on his career.
‘This is a tough business to get into. In my case, it’s been a tough business to get out of – thank God, because I love what I do,’ he also declared.
During his speech, several actors could also be seen holding back tears – including Timothée Chalamet and Sam Rockwell.
‘This whole speech was so beautiful,’ Carol commented on Instagram.
‘I’ve never seen so many grown men cry. This was awesome,’ Teresa observed.
‘I couldn’t love Harrison Ford more. Oh, how he had that audience captivated & rightfully so. One of my favourite all time actors of both film and television. Wit, talent, charm and emotional intelligence for days,’ Kristin added.
With a career spanning six decades, Ford is one of the highest-grossing actors in the world and has been nominated for an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, an Emmy Award, five Golden Globe Awards, and two Screen Actors Guild Awards.
After making his screen debut in 1966, he went on to rise to fame for playing Han Solo in Star Wars, also going on to star in the Indiana Jones and Blade Runner franchises, with his most recent role being in the comedy series Shrinking.
When Ford was announced as the 61st recipient of the award, ‘in acknowledgment of his work as an actor and a humanitarian’, Sag-Aftra president Sean Astin said: ‘Harrison Ford is a singular presence in American life; an actor whose iconic characters have shaped world culture.
‘His career has been endlessly exciting, always returning to his love of acting. We are honoured to celebrate a legend whose impact on our craft is indelible.’
Ford has also previously earned the Critics’ Choice Career Achievement Award, an honorary Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, Bafta’s Albert R. Broccoli Britannia Award, the Golden Globes’ Cecil B. DeMille Award, and the AFI Life Achievement Award.