In 1982, Ford was a co-recipient of the Academy Award for Best Art Direction for his work as set decorator to "Raiders of the Lost Ark" (1981). Before, he had a nomination for "The Empire Strikes Back" (1980) and followed by nominations for "Return of the Jedi" (1983) and "Empire of the Sun" (1987). He won his second Academy Award in 1998 for his work on "Titanic" (1997).