Harrison Ford in the context of "Action hero"

Raiders of the Lost Ark is a 1981 American action-adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Lawrence Kasdan, based on a story by George Lucas and Philip Kaufman. Set in 1936, the film stars Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones, a globetrotting archaeologist vying with Nazi German forces to recover the long-lost Ark of the Covenant which is said to make an army invincible. Teaming up with his tough former romantic interest Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen), Jones races to stop rival archaeologist René Belloq (Paul Freeman) from guiding the Nazis to the Ark and its power.

Lucas conceived Raiders of the Lost Ark in the early 1970s. Seeking to modernize the serial films of the early 20th century, he developed the idea further with Kaufman, who suggested the Ark as the film's goal. Lucas eventually focused on developing his 1977 film Star Wars. Development on Raiders of the Lost Ark resumed that year when he shared the idea with Spielberg, who joined the project several months later. While the pair had ideas for set pieces and stunts for the film, they hired Kasdan to fill in the narrative gaps between them. Principal photography began in June 1980 on a $20 million budget, and concluded that September. Filming took place on sets at Elstree Studios, England, and on location mainly in La Rochelle, France, Tunisia, and Hawaii.

Star Wars (also known as Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope) is a 1977 American epic space opera film written and directed by George Lucas, produced by Lucasfilm Ltd. and released by Twentieth Century-Fox. It is the first film in the Star Wars franchise and the fourth chronological chapter of the "Skywalker Saga". Set in a fictional galaxy under the rule of the tyrannical Galactic Empire, the film follows a resistance movement, called the Rebel Alliance, that aims to destroy the Empire's ultimate weapon, the Death Star. When the rebel leader Princess Leia is captured by the Galactic Empire, Luke Skywalker acquires stolen architectural plans for the Death Star and sets out to rescue her while learning the ways of a metaphysical power known as "the Force" from the Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi. The cast includes Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Peter Cushing, Alec Guinness, Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker, Peter Mayhew, David Prowse, and James Earl Jones.

Lucas had the idea for a science fiction film in the vein of Flash Gordon around the time he completed his first film, THX 1138 (1971), and he began working on a treatment after the release of American Graffiti (1973). After numerous rewrites, principal photography began in March of 1976 in locations including Tunisia and Elstree Studios in Hertfordshire, England. Lucas formed the visual effects company Industrial Light & Magic to help create the film's visual effects. Star Wars suffered production difficulties: the cast and crew believed the film would be a failure, and it went $3 million over budget due to delays.

Indiana Jones is an American media franchise consisting of five films and a prequel television series, along with games, comics, and tie-in novels, that depicts the adventures of Dr. Henry Walton "Indiana" Jones, Jr. (portrayed in all films by Harrison Ford), a fictional professor of archaeology.

The series began in 1981 with the film Raiders of the Lost Ark. In 1984, a prequel, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, was released, and in 1989, a sequel, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. A fourth film followed in 2008, titled Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. A fifth and final film, titled Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, was theatrically released on June 30, 2023. The series was created by George Lucas. The first four films were directed by Steven Spielberg, who worked closely with Lucas during their production, while the fifth film was directed by James Mangold. In 1992, the franchise expanded to a television series with The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, exploring the character in his childhood and youth. It included adventures with his parents and real life historical figures from the early twentieth century.

Sylvester Gardenzio "Sly" Stallone (/stəˈloʊn/ stə-LOHN; born July 6, 1946) is an American actor, painter and filmmaker. In a film career spanning more than fifty years, Stallone has received numerous accolades, including a Golden Globe Award and a Critics' Choice Award, as well as nominations for three Academy Awards and two BAFTA Awards. Stallone is one of only two actors in history (alongside Harrison Ford) to have starred in a box-office No. 1 film across six consecutive decades. Films in which he has appeared have grossed over $7.5 billion worldwide.

Struggling as an actor for a number of years upon moving to New York City in 1969, Stallone found gradual work in films such as The Lords of Flatbush (1974). He achieved his greatest critical and commercial success starting in 1976 with his iconic role as boxer Rocky Balboa in the first film of the successful Rocky franchise, which he also wrote. In 1977, he became the third actor in history to be nominated for two Academy Awards for Best Original Screenplay and Best Actor. He portrayed the PTSD-plagued soldier John Rambo in First Blood (1982), a role he would play across five Rambo films (1982–2019). He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1984. From the mid-1980s to the late 1990s, Stallone would go on to become one of Hollywood's highest-paid actors acting in action films such as Cobra (1986), Tango and Cash (1989), Cliffhanger (1993), Demolition Man (1993), and The Specialist (1994). At the height of his career, Stallone was known for his rivalry with Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Air Force One is a 1997 American political action thriller film directed and co-produced by Wolfgang Petersen and written by Andrew W. Marlowe. Starring Harrison Ford, Gary Oldman, Glenn Close, Wendy Crewson, Xander Berkeley, William H. Macy, Dean Stockwell, Paul Guilfoyle and Jürgen Prochnow, the film follows Air Force One being hijacked by a group of terrorists who demand the release of their country's imprisoned dictator and the president's attempt to rescue everyone on board by retaking his plane.

The film was a box office success and received mostly positive critical reviews. It became the fifth highest-grossing film of 1997, earning $315.2 million worldwide. It also received two Academy Award nominations for Best Sound and Best Film Editing, losing both awards to Titanic.

Gemini Man is a 2019 American science fiction action thriller film directed by Ang Lee. It stars Will Smith in the main dual role, alongside Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Clive Owen and Benedict Wong. The film follows a retiring Force Recon Marine scout sniper who is targeted by a much younger clone of himself while on the run from a corrupt private military company.

Originally conceived in 1997 by screenwriter Darren Lemke, the film spent nearly twenty years in development hell. Several directors, including Tony Scott, Curtis Hanson, and Joe Carnahan, were attached at some point and numerous actors, including Harrison Ford, Mel Gibson and Sean Connery, were set to star. In 2016, Skydance Media purchased the rights to the screenplay (which had been through several rewrites) from Walt Disney Pictures and, in October 2017, Ang Lee signed on to direct for Skydance with Paramount Pictures handling distribution. Filming took place from February through May 2018 using a high frame rate of 120 frames per second.

Patriot Games is a 1992 American action thriller film directed by Phillip Noyce and based on Tom Clancy's 1987 novel of the same name. It is a sequel to the 1990 film The Hunt for Red October, part of a series of films featuring Clancy's character Jack Ryan, but with different actors in the leading roles. Harrison Ford stars as Jack Ryan and Anne Archer as his wife, and James Earl Jones reprises his role as Admiral James Greer. The cast also includes Sean Bean, Patrick Bergin, Thora Birch, Samuel L. Jackson, James Fox, and Richard Harris.

During production, Clancy repeatedly voiced his displeasure with his understanding of the script, in particular details of technical items to be shown onscreen and the 49-year-old Ford conflicting with his vision of Jack Ryan's age, but publicly stated his satisfaction once he actually saw a cut of the film a few weeks before it was released.

The Jules Verne Awards were a set of annual film awards, awarded from 1992 to 2012 in Paris, France. The awards are for "celebrating achievements in arts, exploration, and conservation, in the tradition of French writer Jules Verne".

Dr. Henry Walton "Indiana" Jones, Jr., often called "Indy" for short, is the title character and protagonist of the Indiana Jones franchise. George Lucas created the character in homage to the action heroes of 1930s film serials. The character first appeared in the 1981 film Raiders of the Lost Ark, to be followed by Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom in 1984, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade in 1989, The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles from 1992 to 1996, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull in 2008, and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny in 2023. The character is also featured in novels, comics, video games, and other media. Jones is also the inspiration for several Disney theme park attractions, including Indiana Jones and the Temple of Peril, the Indiana Jones Adventure, and Epic Stunt Spectacular! attractions.

Jones is most famously portrayed by Harrison Ford and has also been portrayed by River Phoenix (as the young Jones in The Last Crusade), and by Corey Carrier, Sean Patrick Flanery, and George Hall in the television series The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles. Doug Lee has supplied the voice of Jones for two LucasArts video games, Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis and Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine, David Esch supplied his voice for Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb, and John Armstrong for Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings. Troy Baker provides the voice and motion capture for the character in Indiana Jones and the Great Circle (2024).