During an appearance on The Hollywood Reporter's podcast, Ford discussed the mental health challenges he faced in adulthood. What ultimately helped him recover was his first encounter with acting in a college drama course.
"I would get out of bed, go to the phone, order a pizza, go back to bed until the pizza arrived. I would eat the pizza, throw the wrappers in the corner, and go back to sleep. I had a single room and I had classes I was supposed to attend, but I rarely went out. On the rare occasions when I did go to the classroom, I would often turn around and go back. It was more than depression, I think I was sick, I was socially sick, and mentally I was not well," said Ford.
What prompted him to find community and build a support system in a roundabout way was his low grade point average. In an effort to improve his GPA, he enrolled in a drama course. Ford recalled that he only read part of the course description, which stated that the curriculum would include reading and analyzing plays.
Also, what he didn't read was that students had to participate in performances themselves, so that was a surprise to him.
"I was surprised that the people I considered nerdy and misfit classmates were actually some of the most interesting people I knew. They were doing something I didn't understand, they were telling stories about life, and some of them were great at understanding human behavior. I think I just found my place among storytellers. It really changed my world and my life," he said.
After this course, Ford went on to build a 50-year career, including numerous famous roles.