Harrison Ford: I never became an actor to be rich and famous

The revered star, 77, has millions of fans around the world thanks to roles in the Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises, as well as leading parts in dozens of other films.

His latest movie is Disney adventure The Call Of The Wild, which sees him playing an ageing prospector who abandons his home and embarks on a journey north during the late 19th century gold rush.

Asked if he ever felt a similar urge, Ford told the PA news agency: “I can hear it (the call) now.”

Ford, who played Han Solo in five Star Wars films and intrepid archaeologist Indiana Jones four times with one more movie to come, insists fame was never his goal.

He said: “Success has been very important to giving me options in my life. I am very grateful for that. I didn’t want to become an actor to become rich and famous, I wanted to become an actor because I wanted to do that job.

“I wanted to be able to live different lives, learn about different people and their lives. I wanted to tell stories, powerful stories. And I’ve got, happily, the opportunity to do that.

“Because I was part of other people’s success, I was part of George Lucas’s success, I was part of Steven Spielberg’s success.

“And that allowed me opportunities I never would have had without that.”

In Call Of The Wild, Ford plays John Thornton, who wanders off into the wilderness following a personal tragedy.

While in Canada’s frozen north, he meets and becomes friends with St Bernard Collie Buck, a beloved family dog forced to fend for himself when stolen from his home in California.

The dog is CGI, as are most of the film’s frozen environments. Stunt co-coordinator Terry Notary played Buck in many scenes, with producers using special effects to replace him in the final cut of the film.

Ford, a dog lover who says he currently has three of the animals, described filming as a “very interesting process”.

He said: “The intimate scenes we had together he served as something to bounce the emotions off of. And although he didn’t speak, he was there and I could look at him and try to communicate the story points and the ideas and the emotion that my character was going through.”

The Call Of The Wild is in UK cinemas now.