The Norman Lear hit sitcom All in the Family went through several changes before premiering on CBS in 1971. Lear shot three pilots with three different sets of Mikes and Glorias until one finally got the green light. Rob Reiner, who ended up playing Archie Bunker’s “meathead” son-in-law, Mike Stivic, in the final version, was initially rejected when he auditioned for the first pilot in 1968. It’s been long rumored since then that, prior to Reiner getting the gig, Harrison Ford was offered the part.
Based on the extensive research that biographer Garry Jenkins did for his 1996 book, Harrison Ford: Imperfect Hero, this story appears to be true. Though he hadn’t quite broken through as an actor at the time, Ford had appeared in a number of film and television projects by the time Lear came calling. However, as his manager Patricia McQueeney told Jenkins, even when Ford was broke, he was very picky about which roles he would take. According to her, no amount of begging could convince the future acting icon to change his mind once he made his decision, and his stubbornness apparently strained some friendships over the years.
No one could’ve known it back then, but taking the role of Mike would’ve been the most high-profile acting job of Ford’s career up until that point. Regardless of the prime-time TV exposure guaranteed by All in the Family, Ford just couldn’t get past Archie’s racism. “He had an extremely strong conscience. He didn’t want to do it because of the way the lead characters spoke, in that bigoted way,” said Ford’s longtime friend, Doug Rowe. “That was diametrically opposed to Harrison. He was always a man with a strong social conscience.”
Even after All in the Family went on to become a number-one hit, Ford had no regrets about turning down the part. Rowe, for his part, understood where he was coming from, explaining, “The end result is that you are out there in a piece forever, so you have got to take care in making selections.” Ford began his ascension in the film world following an appearance in 1973’s American Graffiti. Before long, he’d be a household name, landing starring roles in such blockbusters as Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, and Raiders of the Lost Ark.
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