Harrison Ford Opens Up on His 'Simple' Life, from Embracing Biking Over Flying to How It Inspired New Venture (Exclusive)

Marissa G. MullerThu, May 14, 2026 at 7:15 PM UTC

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Credit: Cindy Ord/Getty for SiriusXM -

Harrison Ford has embraced mountain biking in the Santa Monica Mountains after stepping back from frequent plane flying

Ford collaborated with Glenmorangie to create a limited edition scotch inspired by his humor and love of simplicity

While promoting the whisky, Ford reflected on his near-fatal 2015 plane crash and his evolving outlook on life

Harrison Ford is taking it back to the basics.

The Star Wars actor, who currently stars as Paul on Apple TV's Shrinking, is embracing simplicity in this era of his life.

Ford, 83, has stepped away from spending much of his time off the screen flying planes and is instead taking in beautiful vistas from the seat of his mountain bike. “I fly from time to time, but I'm cutting back,” the legendary star tells PEOPLE while seated in a kilt on a couch at the Sunset Tower Hotel, moments before a party in celebration of his single malt scotch whisky with Glenmorangie.

“One does not replace the other,” Ford explains. “But, I used to spend a lot of time flying. Now I spend a lot of time on my bike.”

Ford's mountain biking hobby follows over a decade after a near-fatal crash in his World War II vintage plane on March 5, 2015 due to engine malfunction. The longtime pilot was forced to make an emergency landing shortly after takeoff in Los Angeles, which left him with a shattered pelvis and right ankle, a broken back and a head injury.

“I really enjoy being outside in nature on a bike, and that's recent for me — the last 3 or 4 years. I've always ridden bikes, but I've ridden road bikes, and now I enjoy riding mountain bikes. And we have a beautiful place to ride it in here with the Santa Monica Mountains," Ford, who has been married to Calista Flockhart since 2010, says.

Harrison Ford Glenmorangie Whisky
Credit: Courtesy Glenmorangie

For Ford, the opportunity to create his perfect scotch whisky gave him the chance to experience another beautiful place for the first time: Scotland. His collaboration with the Scottish distillery Glenmorangie marked his first time stepping foot in Scotland.

“It's quite different,” he says. “You get off the airplane there and you suddenly realize you don't need anything of what you thought you might need, because it's all there, it's a very simple place to be. It's very comfortable. The people are very warm and welcoming and, and you don't miss your television, you know, you don't miss your phone. It was quite, quite remarkable.”

“It's not exactly like going back in time, but it's like going back in the quality of life,” Ford adds. “It's really very simple and straightforward and healthy, wonderful and the countryside is beautiful.”

While in Scotland, Ford worked with Glenmorangie Director of Distilling Dr. Bill Lumsden to impart the same sharp bite the actor's humor has become known for to the taste of the whisky.

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The result is a citrus-forward, buttery single malt with a spicy edge thanks to the toasted Portuguese red wine casks it aged in. The limited edition Harrison Ford x Glenmorangie bottle retails for $104.

CEO & President at The Glenmorangie Company Caspar MacRae and Harrison Ford
Credit: Stefanie Keenan/Getty for Glenmorangie

Back home at his Wyoming ranch, Ford imparted a “Western jazz to this traditional product” in an episodic campaign, titled Once Upon a Time in Scotland, directed byactor Joel Edgerton. The sardonic clip sees Ford reluctantly trade in his signature leather jacket for a kilt and valiantly plug Glenmorangie while standing atop a hill.

“The material had a wry humor that I admired and we knew that we were going to play with that material,” Ford says. “A lot of it was improvisational. And I thought it would be fun. What I particularly liked was the opportunity to work with Joel Edgerton on this campaign and to be able to bring a Western jazz to this traditional product. And we were given carte blanche — which we exceeded.”

While Ford plays a version of himself in the campaign, he has been spending much of his time inhabiting Dr. Paul Rhoades alongside Jason Segel's Jimmy Laird in Shrinking, the third season of which premiered in January. Out of all the roles he's played, Ford says he would choose to live life as Paul.

“I'm quite familiar with him and I'm hanging out with him right now, making a new season of Shrinking,” he explains. “So, I guess I would choose him. Other characters that I've played have too many problems.”

Tony Hawk and Harrison Ford
Credit: Stefanie Keenan/Getty for Glenmorangie

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Having played so many on screen icons, from Han Solo to Indiana Jones, Ford says he doesn't go through life with a particular dream role in mind. “My mind doesn't work that way.” he says. “I think more about the audience than I do about myself when I'm choosing a role.”

These days, Ford's mind is mostly on Shrinking — and when it's time to unwind from work he reaches for an occasional glass of scotch. “I don't drink every day,” Ford shares, adding, “I think you could say that a nice glass of scotch would help you unwind at the end of the day, but I don't get that wound up.”

In one way, his Glenmorangie whisky was five decades in the making.

“My father drank scotch when I was growing up,” Ford later shared in a Q&A at the event. “And, I didn't really start drinking scotch till I was probably about 30 years old, but then I began to really appreciate the different kinds of scotch.I wasn't thinking that someday I'd have this kind of opportunity.I just was enjoying a nice glass of scotch. But the experience of getting to know how this is all done was a really remarkable experience in my life, and I was very pleased by every bit of it.”

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”