Harrison Ford: Star Wars more like fairytale than sci-fi

The 73-year-old gained worldwide fame as Han Solo in George Lucas’s original Star Wars movie back in 1977, a role he has revived for Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens.

Speaking on the Jonathan Ross Show, he said: “There is science fiction I’ve read that I really enjoyed, but I can’t say I was a fan of the genre. I don’t think of Star Wars as science fiction, really.

“What I understood about it was from the context of the characters, that I was one of a kind of fairytale setting.

“You had a wise old warrior in Alec Guinness, you had the callow youth in Mark Hamill and the beautiful princess, Carrie Fisher, and the smart ass.”

The blockbusting movie, which reunites Ford with his original cast members, has opened to critical acclaim.

“I was just glad to be involved in it. Star Wars has been very, very good to me,” Ford acknowledged.

“It gave me a career I have enjoyed and all the opportunities that have preceded from that attachment to Star Wars, so when George [Lucas] called and asked if I might be interested in coming back, I said: ‘Yes, why not?’ Basically. I’ve been sitting around waiting for somebody to give me a job.”

The Indiana Jones star heaped praise on the new kids on the Star Wars block.

“They are terrific. John Boyega and Daisy Ridley are fantastic actors and are going to be around in your lives for a long time,” he said.