Harrison Ford holds back tears at Cannes premiere of final ‘Indiana Jones’

The 80-year-old actor received an honorary Palme d’Or and soaked up the adoration as he said goodbye to one of his iconic roles

By Jada Yuan

May 19, 2023 at 1:14 p.m. EDT

Ad (0:03)

At the Cannes Film Festival for the “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” premiere on May 18, actor Harrison Ford reflected on portraying an iconic character. (Video: Reuters)

Listen

8 min

Comment408

Gift Article

Share

CANNES, France — Just the sight of Harrison Ford was all it took to turn a roomful of journalists into weepy, cheering fans. As Ford’s name was announced at the Friday morning news conference for the premiere of his fifth and final outing as Indiana Jones, reporters in attendance burst into a sustained round of applause. When he appeared to be holding back tears while answering questions — which was often! — an audible “Awwww!” rippled through the room.

“Thank you for existing!” a Brazilian journalist shouted at the end of his question to Ford.

The beloved movie icon was visibly emotional all throughout Thursday night’s premiere of “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” and the press events of the following day. He choked up when he was presented with a surprise honorary Palme d’Or just before the screening started, just after a reel of his life in movies had played. He straight up cried as the crowd showered him with a standing ovation. He struggled with emotion to get out words when the moderator of the presser said how moving it was to see him onstage at the premiere and asked how it felt.

“Indescribable,” said Ford, laughing and shaking his head. “It felt … I can’t even tell you. It’s just extraordinary to see a kind of relic of your life as it passes by. The warmth of this place, and the sense of community, the welcome is unimaginable. And it makes me feel good.”

When accepting his honorary Palme, Ford had not only thanked his wife, Calista Flockhart, his “Destiny” director James Mangold and castmates Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Mads Mikkelsen, but also directly addressed the audience. “You’ve given my life purpose and meaning and I’m grateful for that,” he told the crowd.

At 80, Ford seemed nearly as spry as ever — with fairly obvious CGI help — in the film, which features him in a bracing horseback chase scene through a parade and the New York City subway, petal-to-the-metal-ing rickshaws through the phenomenally narrow streets of Tangier in Moroc