Harrison Ford Receives Lifetime Achievement Honor at SAG 2026 Actor Awards
Harrison Ford looked back on his illustrious career as he received the SAG-AFTRA Lifetime Achievement Award during the 2026 Actors Awards.
I It is decreasing star, 83, accepted the honor with an emotional speech on Sunday, March 1, at an event at the Shrine Auditorium and Expo Hall in Los Angeles.
“I feel very grateful for this kind of attention, but to be clear, I am also humbled. I am in a room with actors, many of whom are here because they have been nominated to receive an award for their amazing work, while I am here to accept the award for still being alive,” began Ford emotionally. “That said, it’s amazing to get a Lifetime Achievement Award halfway through my career. It’s early, right? I’m still a working actor.”
Ford also acknowledged his past as a player.
“I wasn’t successful, I struggled for about 15 years, I went from acting and then I went back to acting until I finally took part in a movie that was successful. None of this happened by myself, thank you, George Lucas, [and] Thank you, Steven Spielberg,” he said, “In my third year of college, I was a little lost. I was failing at school, I felt lonely and alone, then I found people playing games, telling stories. People I thought were unfit and criminals turned out to be ‘my people.’ I found a calling, a life in telling stories, seeing myself pretending to be other people. The work I do with other actors is one of the happiest things in my life. My work is built on their work, as well as the work of the writers, directors and every member of the cast, every crew member I’ve ever had on set.”
Ford also spoke of his “amazing collaborators at every step” of his journey.
“Being able to present to the audience the work we do together is an honor and a privilege, and because of that privilege I came to know you,” he continued. “Our business is difficult to enter, [and] in my case it has been a difficult business to get out of – thank God, because I love what I do. As actors we get to live a lot of lives, we get to explore a lot of strong ideas and elevate our shared experience.”
Ford added, “The stories we tell have a unique power to create moments of emotional connection. They bring us together, so while we’re all at different stages of our lives and careers in this room, we all share something important. We share the privilege of working in a world of ideas, of empathy, of imagination. Sometimes we’re doing entertainment, sometimes we’re doing art, sometimes, we’re both really lucky, at the same time, really lucky. And you get to make a living doing it.”
Ford also expressed how “lucky” he feels to be living his dreams.
“I’m definitely a lucky guy, I’m lucky to find my people, I’m lucky to find a challenging job and lucky that I’m still doing it, I don’t take that for granted,” he said. “I want to thank, sincerely, from the bottom of my heart to my peers, to my extraordinary, beautiful wife, Calista [Flockhart]and my family, who have given me love and courage through it all, and thank you to SAG-AFTRA for honoring me with this award. This is very encouraging.”
SAG-AFTRA announced Ford as the latest recipient of the Life Achievement Award in December 2025.
“Harrison Ford is a fixture in American life; an actor whose iconic characters have shaped world culture. His career has been endlessly entertaining, returning to his love of acting,” SAG-AFTRA president Sean Astin said a statement at the time. “We are honored to celebrate a legend who has had such an indelible impact on our work.”
In his statement, Ford added, “I am honored to be named this year’s recipient of the SAG-AFTRA Life Achievement Award. To be recognized by my fellow actors means a lot to me. I have spent most of my life on film sets, working with amazing actors and actresses, and I have always felt so grateful to this community.”
The competition was fierce at SAG-AFTRA’s 2026 Actor Awards. Kristen Bell hosted the event on Sunday, March 1, held at the Shrine Auditorium and Expo Hall in Los Angeles, for the third year in a row. Bell, 45, has been the sole official host of the annual event, formerly known as the SAG Awards, since 2018. […]
Ford joins the ranks of previous SAG-AFTRA Life Achievement Award recipients such as Clint Eastwood, James Earl Jones, Dick Van Dyke, Carol Burnett, Robert De Niro, Helen Mirren, Sally Field, Barbra Streisand again Jane Fonda.
Ford is known for his famous roles as Han Solo in the game star Wars franchise and titular archaeologist at Indiana Jones franchise. Some of his notable films include 1982 Blade Runnerin 1985 Witnessin 1992 Patriot Gamesin 1993 Refugee and 1997 Air Force One.
More recently, Ford has made his mark in the television industry, starring in the Paramount+ series 1923 from 2022 to 2025 and the Apple TV program It is decreasing from 2023.
Despite his long list of acting credits, Ford still has a wife to call Calista Flockhartmarried to him since June 2010.
“That is the reality that we have not been given something to cooperate with,” he said. Us Weekly in February 2025, adding that he would “like to work” with Flockhart, 61, if the right opportunity arose.
Ford also stated that his current role It is decreasing allowing him to enjoy more quality time with his family. (He is the father of sons Ben, 59, and Willard, 56, with ex-wife Mary Marquardtson Malcolm, 38, and daughter Georgia, 35, with his late ex-wife Melissa Mathison and son Liam, 25, with Flockhart.)
“This is the best job I’ve ever had,” he explained. “I live half an hour from there. I go home and sleep in my bed. I’m in the same city with my wife and kids and I’m telling smart, smart stories with people who are amazingly talented.”
