Harrison Ford has officially accepted the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Actor Awards 2026. 

The legendary actor, who was nominated for two Actor Awards last year for his work in Shrinking, was presented the prestigious honor by Woody Harrelson, who’s never worked onscreen with Ford but recognized Ford after becoming close friends with him. “I hadn’t met Harrison before I saw him go into a sushi restaurant on San Vicente,” Harrelson said. “I followed him in, he invited me to lunch and we had an incredible conversation.”

Ford, known for originating iconic characters in the Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises as well as his critically acclaimed turns in dramas like Witness and The Fugitive, attended with his wife, Calista Flockhart. The endearingly curmudgeonly actor was cracking up through Harrelson’s opening remarks, which began with Harrelson deadpanning, “You have more talent in your little finger than I have in my little finger. Of all the actors in the world, you’re one of them. Everyone in this industry knows you.”

Harrelson went on to celebrate Ford’s remarkable career as well as his environmental activism. “Harrison is a true renaissance man — iconic actor, distinguished pilot and a master carpenter who built his own home,” he said. “I don’t know how to work the coffee machine, and it’s a French press.”

Despite Harrelson’s rambling humor, Ford was visibly emotional as he took the stage following a standing ovation and a tribute reel, which highlighted a screen career that has spanned 60 years — from early supporting roles in the likes of American Graffiti and The Conversation to his rich recent TV work in 1923 and Shrinking. 

Woody Harrelson presenting the award.

“I feel incredibly grateful for this kind attention. But to be clear, I also am quite humbled,” Ford said before cracking, “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!”

Indeed, Ford has been experiencing an acting renaissance of late, making this a fitting moment for a tribute. For Shrinking, he’s received some of the best reviews of his career, his first-ever Actor Awards nominations, his first-ever Emmy nomination and his first Golden Globe nomination in 30 years. (The series, which just premiered its third season at the end of January, was not eligible for the Actor Awards this year.) He joined the MCU last year as Thaddeus Ross aka Red Hulk in Captain America: Brave New World and also reprised his OG Indiana Jones in the most recent film, The Dial of Destiny. 

Ford acknowledged early in his speech, “I was not an overnight success,” before personally shouting out two directors who gave him his biggest breaks: “Thank you, George Lucas. Thank you, Steven Spielberg.” He added later, “This is a tough business to get into. In my case, it’s a tough business to get out of, thank God, because I love what I do.”

Ford teared up over the course of his speech, at times seeming overwhelmed by the significance of the honor. “The stories we tell have a unique capacity to create moments with emotional connection. They bring us together,” he said. “So while we’re all at different stages of our lives and careers in this room, we all share something fundamental: We share the privilege of working in the world of ideas, of empathy, of imagination.

“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,” Ford continued as he wound toward his concluding remarks. “I want to say thank you, truly, from the bottom of my heart, to my peers, [and] to my extraordinary, beautiful wife Calista and my family who have given me love and courage through all of it.”

Even for a speech that proved fundamentally, warmly earnest, though, Ford always found avenues for dry humor. Take, following those comments, his final, concluding remarks: “This is very encouraging.” To put it mildly.