‘Star Wars’: Harrison Ford Only Made $10,000 for Starring in ‘A New Hope’
There are many notable actors who have emerged from Star Wars but Harrison Ford may be the most famous. However, it didn’t start that way. When Star Wars: Episode IV: A New Hope debuted in 1977, all of the main cast members were not yet big stars. Ford himself only made $10,000 for A New Hope, a low salary even for 1977.
Harrison Ford gained notoriety in an early George Lucas movie
Early in his career, Ford had a lot of smaller acting gigs in various movies and TV shows. His career began trending upwards after he was cast in American Graffiti, the second movie by director George Lucas. In the film, Ford played Bob Falfa, a driver who continuously tries to get someone to drag race him.
Shortly after, Ford secured a role in the Francis Ford Coppola film, The Conversation. The actor’s big break came when Lucas cast him as Han Solo in a little film called Star Wars. While the salary was low, Ford took on the role and it has been one of the best decisions he’s ever made.
Harrison Ford only received $10,000 for ‘A New Hope’
Since Ford was still largely unknown, he received a small salary of $10,000 for Star Wars, according to Celebrity Net Worth. Han Solo is now a fan-favorite character but was a supporting role in A New Hope. Adjusted for inflation, that’s around $40,00. According to TheThings, Ford ended up making “$500,000” for the Star Wars sequels after A New Hope.
Mark Hamill, who plays Luke Skywalker, earned the highest salary of $650,000, which is around $2.5 million today. It’s unclear how much Carrie Fisher (Princess Leia) earned, but she did receive a small percentage of the profits. Alec Guinness also had a percentage of the profits and earned around $85 million by the time of his death in 2000.
Since Ford became a huge star from Star Wars, everything came full circle as he had the highest salary in Episode VII: The Force Awakens. His salary for the 2015 movie was between $10-$20 million. He had a brief cameo in Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker, but it’s unclear how much he made for that.
Harrison Ford has the highest net worth of any ‘Star Wars’ actor
Celebrity Net Worth reports that Harrison Ford has a net worth of $300 million. The actor can thank Star Wars for helping to build his net worth, but he has also built his wealth through his long career in movies. Ford has another major role as Indiana Jones in the Indiana Jones franchise. He recently reprised the role in Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and is reprising it once again in Indiana Jones 5.
His other roles include The Fugitive, Blade Runner, Witness, Air Force One, 42, Patriot Games, The Secret Life of Pets 2, and The Call of the Wild. The only actor who comes close to Ford from Star Wars is Samuel L. Jackson, who has a net worth of $250 million. Jackson played Mace Windu in the Star Wars prequel trilogy.
