It was 16 years ago today that Harrison Ford and Calista Flockhart cemented themselves as one of Hollywood’s most prominent power couples.
Harrison, now 83, and Calista, now 61, tied the knot on June 15, 2010 in Santa Fe, New Mexico after a nearly decade-long courtship that involved parenting together, several starry red carpets, and a first encounter that couldn’t have gone more awry.
How did Harrison and Calista first meet?
On January 20, 2002, Harrison and Calista first met at the 59th Golden Globe Awards, where the former was the recipient of the Cecil B. DeMille Award, and the latter was nominated for Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy for Ally McBeal.
In an interview with the New York Times, the Shrinking star recalled: “I saw this lady. I asked my agent: ‘Wow! Who’s that girl?’ He said, ‘That’s Calista Flockhart.’ I said, ‘Oh, what does she do?’ He says, ‘She’s Ally McBeal.’ I hadn’t really seen it. I said, ‘Well, could you introduce us?’ He said, ‘Yes.'”
Their screwball first encounter
The actor, while already a titan of the industry, was more than two-decades older than Calista, who was not as impressed by his charms at the time. “Harrison came over to say hi. When he left, I said: ‘Ugh, what a lascivious old man. What is he doing?'” That did change a bit later, however. “After the show, we started talking. Then I was really charmed by him.”
However, as the night went on, Harrison recalled: “I had this thing, the award, in my hand, and it was easier to hold upside down.” Calista then added: “I joked: ‘Oh, what’s that? A place for me to put my red wine?'”
© Getty Images“Then, of course, because he’s who he is and he can’t hold still, he went, ‘Ugh,’ and then the red wine went everywhere. It didn’t land on me. I was safe. It was all over him, maybe. Maybe on the floor, mostly.” Although, as the Star Wars actor remembered it: “She spilled wine on me, or I spilled wine on her or something, and that sort of sealed the deal.”
Their eventual first date
The entire encounter actually ended up charming Harrison, who remembered then asking the actress out by figuring out where she lived. When he suggested dinner and drinks, she retorted: “Well, maybe, but I have to bring my agent.” And then so did he, although their agents weren’t the only ones involved.
© Getty ImagesAs it turns out, Calista’s Ally McBeal co-star James Marsden was also on their date, with the actress inviting him as a friend to join her and Harrison for dinner, and back to his place for drinks, where there was even dancing involved.
© Getty Images“I’m a harbinger of a wonderful, long relationship,” James joked during an appearance on The Late Late Show with James Corden about “crashing” their first date. “I take the credit for that.” And the rest, as they say, is history!
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