Woody Harrelson had a “tough” time during his speech to honor his friend and the night’s Lifetime Achievement Award recipient, Harrison Ford, at Sunday’s Actors Awards.
Harrelson began his remarks with a quip about how most of the actors in the room would be “losers” by the end of the night. When most of the audience didn’t laugh, he conceded, “That didn’t go quite as... Anyway…” before making a similar comment from the teleprompter.
“You know, this will probably go the same road,” he began, before telling the crowd, “People sometimes complain about actors getting awards. Isn’t the life we’ve been awarded enough? But in truth, eighty percent of you will get lessons in humility this evening,” he said to silence. “OK, that’s what I expected.”
The jokes continued not to land for a while, which Harrelson blamed on the crowd. Addressing Ford, he added, “You have more talent in your little finger than I have in my little finger.” He continued, “Of all the actors in the world… you’re one of them. Everyone in this industry… knows you.” When he finally got a few laughs, Harrelson told the audience, “Thanks for warming up a little.”
He pushed through to tell the story of how Ford asked him to present him the award, despite the fact that they have never appeared in a movie together.
“He wanted me to present this award to him, and I called him a couple days later and said I would. He said, ‘To be totally forthcoming, I asked Helen Mirren, she turned me down. And then I asked Kamala Harris, she couldn’t do it. I said, ‘Dude, let me just stop you right there. Am I in the top 10?’ He said, I can count you on one hand, which I took to mean three fingers. I’m happy to take the bronze—just happy to make the podium,” he said, once again to silence.
“You guys are tough, man. I f---ing write these jokes for you,” he complained. “Anyway,” he said, as he became distracted by Kate Hudson in the audience. “Oh, hi. I just saw Kate!”
Harrelson tried another joke, which drew minimal response, before he was finally granted another moment of reprieve. “Harrison is a true renaissance man—iconic actor, distinguished pilot, and a master carpenter who built his own home,” he said. “I don’t know how to work the coffee machine, and it’s a French press.”
“You guys are finally gettin’ me. Thank you. It’s about time,” he said after he got a few chuckles.
“Listen, I realize there’s too much of me in this tribute to Harrison, but I’m an actor. What do you expect?” he said.
Harrelson managed to pull it together by the end, when he finally presented Ford with the award. “I have a dual purpose to honor my friend, the esteemed living legend, Harrison Ford, and two, to discourage any other friends of mine from asking me do this again.”
“Now, it is with incredible pleasure that I present to you the recipient of the 2026 SAG-AFTRA life achievement award—the timeless American treasure, the man himself, my dear buddy Harrison Ford.”
Ford joked after he ascended the stage, “Thank you, Woody, for that restricted introduction.”
Harrison, meanwhile, drew easy laughs from his first joke of the evening, telling the crowd, “I am quite humbled. I’m in a room of actors, many of whom are here because they’ve been nominated to receive a prize for their amazing work, while I’m here to receive a prize for being alive.”
