Jackson and Ford Brawling for Dollars

The action-movie legends duke it out for the title of top-grossing actor in history

by Tim Appelo, AARP The Magazine, November 22, 2017

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PHOTO BY: Lucasfilm Ltd./Courtesy Everett Collection

1977

At 34, Harrison Ford played Han Solo and earned $10,000, along with fame and glory. The original Star Wars trilogy went on to earn $1.06 billion.
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PHOTO BY: Paramount/Courtesy Everett Collection

1981

Magnum, P.I.’s Tom Selleck pulled out of the Indiana Jones role. Ford to the rescue! The hit movie, plus three sequels, raked in $939 million.
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PHOTO BY: Universal/Courtesy Everett Collection

1991

At 42, fresh out of drug rehab, Samuel L. Jackson (pictured above with Ruby Dee) got attention for portraying an addict in Spike Lee’s Jungle Fever,which brought in $32 million at the box office.
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PHOTO BY: Miramax/Courtesy Everett Collection

1994

Jackson won the part of hit man Jules Winnfield and worked alongside John Travolta (above) in Pulp Fiction — box office: $108 million. Plus, he developed a collaborative rapport with director Quentin Tarantino.
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PHOTO BY: Lucasfilm Ltd./Courtesy Everett Collection

1999

This time Jackson got a Star Wars turn, as Mace Windu in Episode I — The Phantom Menace. Total box office for the prequel trilogy: $1.1 billion.
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PHOTO BY: Walt Disney Co./Courtesy Everett Collection

2011

Playing Nick Fury in superhero films, including The Avengers, made Jackson the No. 1 star. His Marvel movies have earned $2.4 billion so far.
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PHOTO BY: Walt Disney Co./Courtesy Everett Collection

2016

Ford returned to Star Wars with The Force Awakens. The blockbuster sold upward of 100 million U.S. tickets, bringing in $937 million and putting Ford back on top.
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PHOTO BY: Lions Gate/Courtesy Everett Collection

2017

Jackson’s four 2017 releases, including a star turn in The Hitman’s Bodyguard, grossed a combined $295 million and made him No. 1 again.
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PHOTO BY: Courtesy of Warner Brothers

2017

Ford was back as Rick Deckard in Blade Runner 2049, alongside Ryan Gosling (above). It flopped, leaving Ford behind Jackson, but another Indiana Jones movie is due out in 2020.
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