Paging Mr. Jones

Harrison Ford: "I think one of the hardest things I had to learn in becoming an actor was how to talk to people about it. Because I'd say to a director, "I have an idea," and he'd say, "Yeah, give me a break kid; I'm busy." It's the most difficult at the beginning of your career, when nobody really gives a shit about what you think. You're there to say the words and go home. But probably the most important juncture in my career: the first job I did when I was under contract with Columbia, to play a bellboy. My entire dialogue was "Mr. Jones, paging Mr. Jones, Mr. Jones, room 503," then hand this person a note and accept his tip. I got called in to the head of the new-talent program the next day, and he said, "You're never going to make it in this business. Let me tell you a story. The first time Tony Curtis was ever in a movie, he delivered a bag of groceries. I took one look at that guy and said, 'That's a movie star.' " I leaned across his desk and said, "I thought you were supposed to think, 'That's a grocery delivery boy.' " He said, "Get the fuck out of here." And I did. But I persisted in thinking I was right and he was wrong. And I did make a living in the business, and I still think that's what you're supposed to think."