Tom Selleck was originally Spielberg's pick for the role of Indy, but thanks to his show Magnum P.I., he couldn't land the role. This was Ford's gain, who jumped aboard the project quite late in the game. "My playing Indy was mentioned to me about only six weeks before shooting started," Ford recalled. "But being second choice wasn't at all offensive. I would always assume that it would be normal for a director -- once having worked with an actor in a particular part -- not to think of him for someone else. I'd presume that he'd want to accentuate the difference between the two characters by having another actor. I was more than happy when they did ask me to play Indiana Jones, because it promised to be a terrific role in a great film. My only immediate reservation about playing Indiana Jones was that in the script the character was a little bit like Han Solo. Steven and I both wanted to make sure that characters were spread apart. We did that by making good use off the opportunities that existed in Lawrence Kasdan's screenplay. We took off the nose and therefore complicated him in a way that Han Solo is not."

The entire concept of Raiders is a throwback to the old pulp heroes, such as Doc Savage. Ford, however, had little interest or experience with many of those figures. "All I remembered was Sky King, Hopalong Cassidy, and guys like that from the serials. I don't want to sound fatuous, but the character was simply built based on what the story was and what was specific about Indiana Jones that helped tell the story and make it work. It's a slightly more sophisticated process, however, than just letting the script dictate exactly how you'll play the role, but you begin developing your portrayal along the lines suggested by the screenplay. The goal is to ultimately show both the outside and the inside of the character at appropriate moments."  

The huge array of action and stunts in the movie meant that Ford was going to involved in some physical activities. "There was always a double for me and there are some scenes that were doubled, but there were also a lot of stunts that I did myself. There were some things that I didn't do because of time, and some I didn't do because they were too dangerous. Most of the things that I did were like swimming to the submarine; that didn't involve danger, it only involved discomfort."

One of the most physical things to happen to Ford came as an accident when the Nazi's transport plane ("the flying wing") actually ran over the actor's leg, although he walked away virtually unharmed. "The crew's reaction was the normal one associated with having a film's star run over by an airplane when the movie is only half completed. I just walked away from it laughing, because making films is always painful."

"It was all new to me," Karen Allen said of the high profile, large scale production. "I never made a film like that one before. Harrison, of course, was very experienced and comfortable with the physical acting since he had done Star Wars. I came to it fascinated and very eager. But I really didn't know how to do that kind of work on film. The acting really becomes technical. You really have to work with the camera, as opposed to forgetting that the camera is there and trying to get some emotional depth. Instead, you have to look at the camera and figure out how to move an object across it, how to move within the frame, while creating some kind of feeling at the same time."

Allen, who's other major credits include John Carpenter's Starman, John Landis' National Lampoons Animal House and Wolfgang Petersen's The Perfect Storm, believed the major Hollywood players behind Raiders guaranteed it would have an impact...either positive or negative. "Because Steven Spielberg and George Lucas were involved, you couldn't help but be aware that Raiders would have a tremendous amount of attention paid to it. This meant it could also be tremendous bomb or a big hit."

Onscreen, Indy and Marion go through all manner of peril, and become closer through their experiences. The actors, however, didn't gel as tightly. "I worked with him for four months, but I really didn't get to know him well. He was very professional and very good to work with. At times, there's a thing with actors where you get along wonderfully and become lifelong friends. Then, there are times when you work with people and barely get to know them at all. I guess I didn't get to know Harrison too well."

Although the actress was glad to be a part of the sequels, she loved her one time appearance in the trilogy. "Raiders was really an interesting story. Watching Steven work on it, I know the movie had a wonderful look to it. I watched the dailies every day while it was being made. The first time I saw the completed film, I was pleasantly surprised at how wonderful and inventive it was and how it moved along like a bat out of hell."