Harrison Ford, (born July 13, 1942, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.), American actor, perhaps best known for playing charismatic rogues in the Star Wars and Indiana Jones film franchises. Ford was born in Chicago and was raised in the city’s suburbs. After attending Ripon College in Wisconsin, he took minor acting roles in movies and television for Columbia and Universal studios but soon fell back on a sideline career in carpentry. His film career began in earnest with a bit part in the successful American Graffiti (1973), the first major work of director George Lucas. The movie was produced by Francis Ford Coppola, who later directed Ford in The Conversation (1974) and Apocalypse Now (1979).