Indy mood for adventure

1 The first film, Raiders of the Lost Ark, came out in 1981 and followed Indy's race to beat Nazis to finding the Ark of the Covenant. Three more films followed 1984's Temple of Doom, 1989's Last Crusade and 2008's Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

2 Indiana's name came from creator George Lucas's dog, which had the same moniker. The big hairy pup also provided the inspiration for Chewbacca in Lucas's other famous franchise, Star Wars.

3 There were nods to Star Wars, which also starred Ford, in the Indy films - in Raiders, carvings of R2-D2 and C-3PO are hidden in the Well of Souls hieroglyphs while the nightspot at the start of Temple of Doom is Club Obi Wan.

4 Ford was not the first choice for the role of Indiana. Lucas originally wanted moustachioed Magnum PI star Tom Selleck to play the part.