Adventure has a name! Or, actually, it has eight. From the man himself to a literal baby,
these are the actors who have played the legendary archaeologist Indiana Jones.
Harrison Ford first appeared as Indiana Jones in 1981's Raiders of the Lost Ark,
instantly cementing the character's reputation as a cinematic legend. After Raiders, Ford appeared
in four more Jones adventures: Temple of Doom, The Last Crusade, Kingdom of the Crystal Skull,
and Dial of Destiny. Ford is more or less synonymous with Indy, which is all the more
remarkable considering George Lucas and Steven Spielberg initially cast Tom Selleck for the part.
"Look, I did what I did, I don't expect you to be happy about it.
Thought maybe it could do us both some good."
Selleck was too busy racing around Hawaii in a red Ferrari on Magnum P.I.,
however, and Ford landed the role instead.
Of course, Indiana Jones is just one of the iconic characters Harrison Ford has played in
his illustrious career. Before Raiders, he had portrayed another of George Lucas' swaggering
hot-shot rogues: Han Solo in Star Wars. He also starred as Rick Deckard in the dystopian sci-fi
classic Blade Runner, played Dr. Richard Kimble in The Fugitive, kicked butt as US President James
Marshall in Air Force One… the list is nearly endless, in fact, and in the years since Raiders,
Ford has become one of Hollywood's most iconic actors. Not too shabby for an ex-carpenter.
River Phoenix plays a young Indiana Jones in the opening sequence of The Last Crusade. In the third
installment of the franchise, boy scout Indy takes on a gang of grave robbers bent on stealing a
golden crucifix for a mysterious benefactor. Racing through the rugged Utah landscape,
Indy does his best to thwart the thieves — but his efforts prove unsuccessful.
"You lost today, kid. But that doesn't mean you have to like it."
While they don't share any scenes in The Last Crusade,
this wasn't the first time Phoenix had crossed paths with Harrison Ford;
he had previously played Ford's son in 1986's The Mosquito Coast.
By the time Phoenix took on the role of Indiana Jones,
he was already one of Hollywood's most promising young stars. He starred in the
1986 coming-of-age classic Stand By Me, and, at just 17 years old,
delivered an Oscar-nominated performance in Running On Empty. Tragically, Phoenix died in
1993 at age 23 from a drug overdose. At the time of Phoenix's death, Ford told the New York Times:
"He played my son once, and I came to love him like a son,
and was proud to watch him grow into a man of such talent and integrity and compassion."
Veteran stage actor George Hall played the elderly Indiana Jones in The Young
Indiana Jones Chronicles. Episodes of The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles are framed by old Indy's
memories and he serves as narrator for the show's adventures — although this older Indy was edited
out of the series when George Lucas re-cut it as The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones.
Indiana Jones came late in Hall's decades-long acting career. He trained at the Neighborhood
Playhouse School and worked in vaudeville before hitting the Broadway stage in the
1940s. Hall died in 2002 at the age of 85, having performed on stage just weeks before his death.
Sean Patrick Flanery played a young Indy in the '90s series The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles,
as well as several TV movies. George Lucas hatched the idea for a prequel series as
a way to answer fans' questions about the character. He cast Flanery as Indy
because he embodied the enthusiastic innocence that Lucas was looking for.
"Oh, I've got a bad feeling about this."
And while Lucas intended The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles to educate as much as entertain,
there's still plenty of action and adventure to be had. Flanery,
a former autocross racer and triathlete, threw himself into the
physically demanding role of young Indy, even performing most of his own stunts.
The role of Indiana Jones kicked off Flanery's Hollywood career, which quickly moved into
lead-role status for 1995's fantasy drama Powder. He made a name for himself as a gritty action
star, and is today best known for his part in The Boondock Saints. As for returning as Indiana
Jones? Well, Flanery certainly wouldn't turn down the opportunity. As he told PopCulture in 2021:
"Man, I can probably count on one hand the amount of people that
wouldn't want to do something that George Lucas originated."
Corey Carrier played an even younger Indiana Jones in The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles,
depicting Indy as a globe-trotting nine-year-old. Under the supervision of his parents, Henry Jones,
Sr. and Anna Jones, Carrier's version of young Indy takes in the wonders of
the world — and gets into a little trouble along the way. Even young Indy didn't want
to be locked away in the classroom for too long, and his formative experiences offer
some welcome context for the adult version of Indiana Jones we've all grown to love.
Carrier maintained an active acting career in the '90s, including roles as a young Richard
Nixon in director Oliver Stone's 1995 film Nixon and Pinocchio's mischievous chum Lampwick in The
Adventures of Pinocchio. Since then, Carrier has been living his life mostly off-screen.
Yes, we're including the baby, too. Credited for just a single episode, Neil Boulane played
an infant version of Indiana Jones in The Indiana Jones Chronicles. Little Henry
grows up after several scenes, ready to take on more mature, childhood adventures. Albeit brief,
Boulane's performance gives some important context to a famous part of Indiana Jones lore.
"You know how it is when you like someone the first time you ever meet them?
I mean, really like them? Well, that's how it was with me and Indiana."
Boulane only has one other credit to his name: playing baby Jesus in 1995's Marie
de Nazareth. As he seems to have retired from acting around the same time that he grew teeth,
it's perhaps no surprise that Boulane's current whereabouts remain unknown.
Chris Strompolos' depiction of Indiana Jones might not be in the official canon,
but his tribute movie, Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Adaptation, has become a legendary feat of
film fandom. As a 10-year-old living in Gulfport, Mississippi, Strompolos and his friend dedicated
much of their childhood to remaking Raiders of the Lost Ark scene-for-scene, an undertaking that took
seven years to complete. As to why Strompolos made the project, he later told the New York Times:
"I just wanted to be Indiana Jones. I wanted to see what it would be like
to be so self-sufficient and get in and out of trouble."
In the years after its 1989 completion, Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Adaptation garnered a cult
following. These days, Strompolos has traded in his Indy fedora and whip for a computer,
with his LinkedIn page suggesting that he works in animation and VFX.
Welcome to the dregs: Tony Cox plays Indiana Jones in 2008's Hollywood spoof Disaster Movie,
joining a long tradition of pop culture parodies of the iconic hero. Indiana Jones parodies are
nothing new, of course, and Cox's portrayal of the man in the hat isn't all that groundbreaking.
His raunchy take on the character suits the vibe of Disaster Movie to a tee, but that's hardly a
compliment considering the movie currently sits at a paltry 1% on Rotten Tomatoes' Tomatometer.
"Indiana my ass!"
Still, Cox's appearance in such an atrocious movie doesn't mean he's
not a fine actor. With film credits dating back to 1980,
Cox has scored parts in movies ranging from Willow to Beetlejuice to Bad Santa.