Forty years ago, George Lucas and Steven Spielberg introduced audiences to the intrepid archaeologist, Indiana Jones. He was not exactly a new type of hero. He harked back to the old black and white Republic serials, cheaply made globetrotting adventures that had such a huge effect on Lucas growing up. Jones was part Allan Quartermain with his wide-brim fedora, and Zorro with his bullwhip, but he also had his roots in real-life adventurers. All these influences resulted in a unique take on the old matinee film hero, and all memory of those Sunday matinees all but vanished when Harrison Ford first appeared on screen in Raiders of the Lost Ark. Ford was instantly iconic as Indiana Jones, just as he was as Han Solo. Today, it’s almost inconceivable that anyone else could step into the role, but back in the late-1970s, Ford was not the obvious choice to play Indiana Jones.

Harrison Ford Wasn’t Lucas’s First Choice

Fans of the Indiana Jones franchise know that Ford wasn’t Lucas’s first choice to play Indy. He wanted a lesser-known actor in the role and considered actors Timothy Matheson, John Shea, Nick Mancuso, and Nick Nolte. More unlikely candidates considered included Bill Murray (who Tim Burton also considered to play Batman), Chevy Chase, and Steve Martin, who allegedly turned down the role for Pennies From Heaven.

An interesting choice was Jack Nicholson according to Moviefone. Lucas presumedly chose Nicholson from his performance in Chinatown, rather than his unhinged portrayal of Jack Torrance in The Shining. Spielberg also suggested Peter Coyote, who went on to play the scientist “Keys” in E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial the following year.

Lucas and Spielberg eventually settled on Tom Selleck, who gave an impressive screen-test with Sean Young as Marion Ravenwood. Unfortunately, CBS had him under contract for Magnum P.I. and would not make allowances for him to play Indiana Jones.

Selleck did get a chance to play a similar role to Indy in High Road to China, and while competent it came off as a cheap and unoriginal knockoff of Indiana Jones. And then in the final season of Magnum P.I., Selleck got to spoof Raiders in an episode called ‘Legend of the Lost Art.’

With production starting in March 1980, Spielberg suggested Ford. The accounts differ slightly. Kathleen Kennedy said that she went to see The Empire Strikes Back with Spielberg and Lucas and that when they came out afterward they agreed that “Harrison Ford IS Indiana Jones.” But Spielberg recounted things slightly differently. In an interview, while shooting Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, he said that he suggested Ford after seeing a rough cut of The Empire Strikes Back. But Lucas resisted informing Spielberg that he did not want Ford to become his Robert De Niro, referencing De Niro’s relationship with Martin Scorcese. Spielberg assured him that actors play hundreds of parts and that Ford could comfortably play both Han Solo and Indiana Jones. Within days, Ford was offered the part. But it would not go so smoothly for Spielberg and Lucas.

Ford Improves the Character

Selleck was Spielberg’s first choice, and Ford knew it. He had discovered he had lost out to Selleck after reading an article in Variety. Understandably annoyed, Ford played hardball when Lucas and Spielberg inevitably came to his door offering the part. Ford negotiated seven net points as his fee, and a rewrite of Indiana Jones’ dialogue to give him a more wisecracking persona. After Ford won the part, the postponement of a Screen Actors’ Guild strike would have allowed Selleck to play both Indiana Jones and Thomas Magnum.

Ford went over every line of the script with Kasdan to remove any similarities to Han Solo. The actor instinctively knew both roles could be similar. Both Solo and Jones had that western vibe. They both have shades of the gunslinger archetype of The Man With No Name popularized by Sergio Leone’s westerns The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly and A Fistful of Dollars. Not only did Indiana Jones ride a horse and wear a wide-brimmed hat like a western gunslinger, but the signature action sequence where he slides under the truck carrying the Ark was also directly inspired by a similar action sequence in the western Stagecoach. 

Ford’s contribution continued throughout production. On his advice, the elaborate fight between an Arab swordsman and Indy in the script was changed to Indy just shooting him. An idea Ford suggested when sick with dysentery, and desperate to just finish up filming for the day so he could get back to bed.

Lightning struck twice for George Lucas and Harrison Ford. Raiders defied expectations from both Lucas and the studio raking in $242 million in the US alone and becoming the highest-grossing film of 1981. The success ensured that both Lucas and Ford were not just one-hit-wonders. Lucas had started his second blockbuster franchise, and Ford secured his status as a box office star and a household name.