“He Called Himself ‘A Lucky Guy’ — But the Room Could Barely Hold It Together.” Harrison Ford’s Life Achievement Moment Turns Emotional

Harrison Ford received the 2026 Actor Awards’ Life Achievement Award on Sunday, March 1 in recognition of his overall work in film and television over the years

Harrison Ford delivered an emotional speech when he received the Life Achievement Award at the 2026 Actor Awards on Sunday, March 1.

Ford, 83, reflected on the good fortune he has held through his decades-long acting career as he accepted SAG-AFTRA’s annual Life Achievement Award from his friend Woody Harrelson.

“Sometimes we make entertainment; sometimes we make art. Sometimes we’re lucky to make ’em both at the same time, and if we’re really fortunate, we also get to make a living doing it,” Ford said, as both he and other actors in the room grew visibly teary-eyed through his eight-minute-long speech.

“Success in this business brings a certain freedom that comes with responsibility to support each other, to lift others up when we can, to keep the door open for the next kid, the next lost boy who’s looking for a place to belong,” he continued. “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.”

“I want to say thank you, truly, from the bottom of my heart, to my peers, to my extraordinary beautiful wife Calista and my family, who have given me love and courage through all of it, and thank you to SAG-AFTRA for honoring me with this prize,” Ford said of his wife of over 15 years as he wrapped his speech, adding in jest, “This is very encouraging.”

Ford joked at the onset of his speech that he remains “at the half point of my career” and noted George Lucas, Steven Spielberg and the late casting director Fred Roos and his former manager Patricia McQueeny for their impacts on his career in his speech.

“This is a tough business to get into. In my case, it’s been a tough business to get out of — thank God, because I love what I do,” he said elsewhere in the speech.

An official SAG-AFTRA press release states that the Life Achievement Award is “given annually to an actor who fosters the ‘finest ideals of the acting profession.’ ” “Over the years, Ford has captivated global audiences with genre-defining performances and characters that have become woven into the fabric of our culture, while also contributing meaningfully to various humanitarian and environmental causes,” the release states.

The SAG-AFTRA Life Achievement Award is one of many honors Ford has received for his body of work in recent years. Ford was awarded the Critics’ Choice Lifetime Achievement Award in 2024 and the Palme d’Or at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival.

The Chicago native, whose acting career began in the 1960s, made his breakthrough in 1973 as Bob Falfa in American Graffiti. Later that decade, Ford went on to star in George Lucas’ Star Wars as Han Solo, captain of the Millennium Falcon. In 1981, he took on the role of archaeologist Indiana Jones in the action-adventure franchise.

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Past Life Achievement Award honorees at SAG’s annual award show have included Jane Fonda (2025), Barbra Streisand (2024), Sally Field (2023), Helen Mirren (2022), Robert De Niro (2020), Morgan Freeman (2018) and Carol Burnett (2016), among others.

Ford’s filmography also includes The Conversation, Apocalypse Now, Blade Runner, Witness, Working Girl, Sabrina, Morning Glory and The Age of Adeline. At the start of his television career, Ford appeared in several series, including Gunsmoke, The F.B.I. and American Style. He marked his return to television in 2022, starring in 1923 alongside Helen Mirren.

See PEOPLE’s full coverage of the 32nd annual Actor Awards Sunday, March 1 as they air live on Netflix.