10 Movie Roles Harrison Ford Turned Down

10 roles that could've joined Han, Indy and Deckard...

by Andrew Pollard

Harrison Ford is an absolute icon of cinema, with the Chicago native known for playing some of the coolest characters in film history. But whilst many were introduced to him as Han Solo, Rick Deckard or Dr. Henry Walton Indiana Jones Jr., Ford has also turned down his fair share of huge parts over the years. The career of an actor is so often defined by the roles that they agree to take on, be they for better or for worse, but in some cases there's always the sense of 'what if?', and it's with that train of thought that it's time to look at some of the gigs that Harrison Ford has turned down throughout his 50-year career. One rationale says that when you're Han, Indy and Deckard then don't need to worry about other roles, but the notion of Ford taking on some of these iconic characters is enough to stir anyone's imagination. With that said, let's look at some of the biggest roles and movies that the legendary Harrison Ford chose to turn down.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.