There are very few movie stars as recognizable and universally adored as Harrison Ford. Ford is one of the most prolific and iconic actors who ever lived, having played prominent roles in some of the greatest movies ever made. Throughout his half-century acting career, Ford has played all kinds of characters, from a space pirate to an archeologist-turned-explorer to a robot hunter in the future.
Ford has played some of the most quotable characters in movie history, from Han “Never tell me the odds!” Solo to Indiana “It belongs in a museum!” Jones.
Updated on November 28th, 2022 by Colin McCormick: Harrison Ford’s casting as Thunderbolt Ross in the MCU suggests the legendary actor could have another iconic character on his hands. With so many beloved characters and movies throughout his career, there are even more memorable quotes that deserve to be recognized. These quotes highlight why audiences have loved Ford as an actor for so long and how he has built so many iconic movie performances over the years.
“Never Tell Me The Odds!”
Han Solo – Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
Thanks to Ford’s smooth charisma, Han Solo is arguably the only Star Wars character who threatens to dethrone Darth Vader as the saga’s most iconic character. Han is as quick on the draw with a biting one-liner as he is with a good blaster at his side.
In the action-packed middle act of The Empire Strikes Back, Han attempts to outrun the Imperial fleet by veering into an asteroid field. When C-3PO informs him that their odds of survival are 3,720 to one, Han quips, “Never tell me the odds!”
“I Had Your Job Once. I Was Good At It.”
Rich Deckard – Blade Runner 2049 (2017)
Though few fans thought a second Blade Runner movie was a good idea, Blade Runner 2049 was received as one of the best legacy sequels of all time. And while Ryan Gosling gave a great performance in the lead role of K, it was a thrill seeing Ford return as Rick Deckard.
After being absent for most of the movie, Deckard’s introduction in the third act is well-earned. His confident yet somewhat sad statement to K, recognizing him as a fellow Blade Runner says so much about his past with only a few words.
“Snakes… Why Did It Have To Be Snakes?”
Indiana Jones – Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
Spearheaded by Steven Spielberg and George Lucas, the Indiana Jones movies are spot-on homages to escapist Saturday matinee action-adventures. Ford’s Bogart-esque charms arguably contributed as much to the series’ authentic throwback to the forgotten genre as Spielberg’s old-school direction, Lucas’ pulpy storytelling, and John Williams’ riveting orchestrations.
Indy is presented as a mostly fearless explorer, racing valiantly into dangerous situations to recover artifacts that belong in a museum. He’s only afraid of one thing: snakes. And, of course, in Raiders of the Lost Ark, he finds himself in an ancient tomb full of nasty, slithering snakes.
“Go To Hell!”
Rick Deckard – Blade Runner (1982)
While Han and Indy are undoubtedly Ford’s most iconic roles, Blade Runner’s Rick Deckard isn’t far behind. The role of a noir antihero transplanted into a dystopian future was perfect for the actor’s rugged, hard-boiled charms.
The villainous Roy Batty gets the most memorable lines in the movie – like his “tears in rain” speech – but Deckard gets a great one-liner during his aimless pontificating. Batty says, “Six! Seven! Go to Hell or go to Heaven!” before Deckard attacks him with an iron rod and quips, “Go to Hell!”
“I Will F***ing Destroy You.”
Jack Ryan – Patriot Games (1992)
Though many of the best moments in the Jack Ryan movies deal with the big action sequences, he is a hero of intelligence rather than muscle. Patriot Games delivers a moment that is equally as epic as the action moments based entirely on Ford’s intense delivery.
After his daughter is nearly killed by a rogue Irish terrorist, Jack tries to get an IRA man to give him up. When the man refuses, Jack threatens to broadcast what happened to his daughter to the world, making it his mission to ensure the IRA never has any support in the world. His intense promise shows a toughness in Jack rarely seen.
“I Didn’t Kill My Wife!”
Richard Kimble – The Fugitive (1993)
Andrew Davis’ movie version of The Fugitive is one of the rare cases of a TV-to-film adaptation working spectacularly. Dr. Richard Kimble’s attempt to flee from the law and clear his name captivated audiences for years on television and culminated in one of the highest-rated series finales of all time. But, if anything, the Ford movie proved that this story works better as a three-act feature film.
Tommy Lee Jones’ U.S. Marshal Samuel Gerard gets the most iconic quote in the movie with his “every warehouse, farmhouse, henhouse, outhouse, and doghouse” monologue, but Ford’s Kimble gets a few memorable lines, too.
“Want Me To Start With The Other Knee?”
Jack Ryan- Patriot Games (1992)
Tom Clancy’s CIA analyst character Jack Ryan is one of the most iconic heroes of the thriller genre. Ford took over the role on the big screen in Patriot Games and reprised the role a couple of years later in Clear and Present Danger.
Ford played Ryan as a real badass. When a CIA agent named Geoffrey Watkins turns out to be a mole, Ryan notices that he’s already been shot and darkly jokes, “Want me to start with the other knee?”
“I Know.”
Han Solo – Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
The sharpest quipster in a galaxy far, far away is too quotable to only be included on this list once. After the original Star Wars movie turned Han from a selfish gunslinger into a Rebel hero, The Empire Strikes Back explored his fizzling romantic tension with Leia. An Imperial strike on the Rebels’ Hoth base confined Han and Leia to the Falcon, desperately fleeing from the Empire, where they were forced to confront their feelings for each other.
At the movie’s chilling climax, Han is about to be frozen in carbonite and a heartbroken Leia tells him, “I love you.” Leia and the audience expect Han to say, “I love you, too,” like in countless other movies, but with typical ice-coolness, Han replies, “I know,” before being lowered into the chamber and becoming ice-cool in a more literal sense.
“Part Time.”
Indiana Jones – Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)
There are some who feel Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is a movie that gets unwarranted hate from fans. But one aspect all fans seem to agree on is that Ford fits right back into his iconic role.
One simple line shows the humor and badass qualities of Indy as he fights off a group of assassins, saving Mutt Williams’ life. The young man is amazed and clarifies that Indy is really just a teacher to which Indy replies with a smile, “Part time.”
“Get Off My Plane!”
President James Marshall – Air Force One (1997)
The Die Hard formula has produced a handful of classic action movies, from the Keanu Reeves vehicle Speed (“Die Hard on a bus”) to the Ford-starring gem Air Force One (“Die Hard on the U.S. President’s plane”).
Gary Oldman added another iconic movie villain to his résumé alongside Dracula, Drexl Spivey, and Norman Stansfield with his turn as the Hans Gruber-esque diabolical leader of the hijackers in Air Force One. After picking off the rest of the hijackers, President James Marshall – the most badass movie president of all time – ejects Oldman’s head honcho with the unforgettable one-liner, “Get off my plane!”
“You Understand, Captain, That This Mission Does Not Exist, Nor Will It Ever Exist.”
Colonel Lucas – Apocalypse Now (1979)
Ford only appears in one scene in Francis Ford Coppola’s gonzo Vietnam War opus Apocalypse Now, but it’s one of the earliest and greatest scenes in the film. The opening exposition sequence – in which Captain Willard’s black-ops mission is explained to him by a few decorated higher-ups (including Ford as Colonel G. Lucas, named after George Lucas) – is one of the best exposition scenes ever written. Coppola has recut the movie a few times, but he always leaves this scene intact.
The most memorable quote from this scene is the haunting four-word description of Willard’s assignment – “Terminate with extreme prejudice” – but Ford’s Colonel Lucas reinforces the deep-state secrecy of the mission: “You understand, Captain, that this mission does not exist, nor will it ever exist.”
“Chewie… We’re Home.”
Another iconic role that Ford returned to after a long absence was that of Han Solo. Ford helped give Han Solo many of his unmistakable traits and it was a real treat to see him show it all off again in Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
From the first moment he comes on screen, it is hard for fans not to smile from ear to ear. After Rey and Finn find and take the Millennium Falcon, Han and Chewie board it and Han delivers this line that is as much the character feeling at home as it is the audience welcoming back this beloved character.
“It’s Not The Years, Honey. It’s The Mileage.”
Indiana Jones – Raiders of the Lost Ark (1982)
Though Ford’s return in Indian Jones 5 will most certainly be an older take on the character, Indy was always a hero with vulnerability. He got hurt and showed it, making him more relatable than some other seemingly indestructible heroes.
In Raiders of the Lost Ark, Marion teases Indy about being an older man. However, he suggests it is the type of life he lived that really matters. It is apparently an improved line that helps prove Indiana Jones is an iconic movie character they should never recast.
“Don’t Call Me Junior!”
Indiana Jones – Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)
Like Han, Indy is far too quotable to only have one line on this list. Dr. Jones has shared memorable on-screen dynamics with a few of his supporting characters, from Marion Ravenwood to Short Round, but arguably his most iconic pairing is with his estranged father.
Ford shares palpable chemistry with former James Bond actor Sean Connery as a bickering father and son in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade – down to the running joke revolving around his childhood nickname, “Junior.”
“Sometimes, To Love Someone, You Got To Be A Stranger.”
Rick Deckard – Blade Runner 2049 (2017)
Ford’s return as Deckard in Blade Runner 2049 was more emotional than fans might have expected. Rather than being the tough noirish detective fans remembered, Deckard is now a man living on his own who had to give up a lot to avoid harm coming to those he loves.
The sequel, Denis Villeneuve’s Blade Runner 2049, explores the aftermath of the first movie through the fate of the child that Deckard conceived with Rachael. Deckard sums up his complicated approach to fatherhood in one heartbreaking quote: “Sometimes, to love someone, you got to be a stranger.”
