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Harrison Ford shares fun improv story from the set of 'Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back'

By Sophia Soto | Last updated Aug 1, 2025 11:28 AM ET

Harrison Ford has had many iconic performances throughout his career, and with him earning his first Emmy nomination for Apple TV+'s Shrinking, he's reflecting on some of those characters and their significance.

The actor brought the beloved Han Solo to life in Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope, Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back, Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi, and Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens.

As for when he realized just how special the role was, he told Variety, "I didn’t really know whether there was going to be another film when we started, and because I didn’t know whether there would be another film — and because I only had the script from the first one to consider — I didn’t sign the sequel deal, which turned out to be to all of our advantage."

He continued to describe his late co-star Carrie Fisher by saying she had "a very inspired wit and very special manner. She’s also very smart, very funny." He commented that he had a "special relationship with" her and Mark Hamill, adding, "Both of them were dear friends — are dear friends."

He even spoke about improvising the famous "I know" response to Leia's "I love you" in The Empire Strikes Back. "I was supposed to say, 'I love you too,' and I thought that was a little un-Han Solo-ish. I thought it was a little banal. So I said no, and [director] Irvin Kershner agreed with me," he explained. "George, when he saw it, was not so sure, and made me sit next to him at the screening of the film the first time we ran it for an audience. They laughed, but it was a good laugh, so we kept it in. Thank you, George."

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Another unforgettable one of Ford's roles is Indiana Jones, the actor starring in Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.

"I wanted to see him as an older man facing the consequences of the life that he had lived. But I couldn’t imagine that we were going to end up doing five of them. I didn’t expect success. In the movie business, you always go in wanting to be successful, but you don’t always expect to be," he shared. "I did expect the first film would be wildly successful. I read it very quickly, one time. I’d been asked by George Lucas to go and meet Steven Spielberg, who I didn’t know, and he sent me a script to read. I thought it was great. And then I went to meet Steven, we spent about an hour together and suddenly I had a job."

And in case you're wondering if he has any plans to retire, the answer is simple: No. "That’s one of the things I thought was attractive about the job of an actor, was that they need old people, too, to play old people’s parts," he concluded.

Sophia Soto

Sophia Soto is a writer and interviewer with a passion for all things entertainment. She is a Senior Reporter at The Nerds of Color and contributes to Yardbarker, Screensphere, Den of Geek, What to Watch, Nerdtropolis, and Temple of Geek. You can see her past work on Remezcla, Young Hollywood, Looper, Paste Magazine, Primetimer, Soundsphere, and Starry Constellation Magazine

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