In the early years of his career, Harrison Ford received a piece of advice that could have derailed everything.
While under a contract with Columbia Pictures in 1966, Ford reflected on his early struggles during a Wednesday interview with Variety. The role in question? A small part in the 1966 film “Dead Heat on a Merry-Go-Round,” one that earned him just $150 per week.
That’s when things took an unexpected turn.
“I was called into the office of the head of the new talent program, and he told me that I had no future in the business,” Ford recalled. The comment didn’t shake Ford’s ambition, but it wasn’t the end of the unsolicited advice.
“He wanted me to change my name. He thought that ‘Harrison Ford’ was too pretentious a name for a young man,” Ford said.
