Harrison Ford, Steven Spielberg, George Lucas and Frank Marshall look back on the legacy of Marion Ravenwood and discuss how only one actress could do her justice in the historic blockbuster.

The journey for Karen Allen to become the iconic Marion Ravenwood in Raiders of the Lost Ark all started with a 3×5 card calling for college-aged actors to appear in an upcoming comedy later titled Animal House.

Twenty-six years old at the time, the actress had just moved from Washington, D.C., where she attended George Washington University, back to New York City to study her acting craft at the Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute.

And, “by a fluke,” as she says, Allen landed a role in what would go on to become the 1978 National Lampoon comedy classic.

But it would be an action-adventure dreamt up by George Lucas and directed by Steven Spielberg that would make her a star.

Considered by most to be the greatest action-adventure of all time, Raiders of the Lost Ark was a blockbuster of gigantic proportions (worldwide gross of $389.9 million off an $18 million budget) and won five Oscars, the most in 1982 (including nominations for best picture and best director).

The Paramount jewel made Allen a household name, forever changing her life — sometimes not for the better, as she would develop agoraphobia for a time due to all the sudden, constant attention.

Now, as Raiders of the Lost Ark turns 40, Allen — along with visits from star Harrison Ford, Spielberg, Lucas and producer Frank Marshall — looks back on her time on the production with The Hollywood Reporter to share new in-depth tales about bringing Marion Ravenwood to life (with harrowing snake and burning bar stories), opening up about how, for a time, she resented the film following its massive success before embracing it, and how the beloved character forever shaped her career and life, among much more.

Auditioning for Raiders of the Lost Ark was one of the most unique (and bizarre) experiences Allen has had in her decades of making films.

Her name was mentioned by several directors, including Animal House’s John Landis and Kaufman, pals of Spielberg, who was on the lookout for his Raiders female lead.

“I had my attention on Karen to be in one of my films ever since I saw her play Katy in Animal House,” says Spielberg, adding that her character “didn’t let Boon [Peter Riegert] get away with much either!” Allen did not see a script during the initial meeting.

“We talked for maybe 10 minutes, he didn’t tell me much about the film, but I knew from what he said she was a tough character,” Allen says.

Marion was a character that was like Indy, also tough and full of spirit — clearly a match so you’d be able to tell why they got along … and why they sometimes didn’t.

For Allen, the Raiders of the Lost Ark production was arduous but also pure joy.

“A scene I really didn’t like was where I am captured and in the tent and Paul Freeman as [René] Belloq comes in and brings a dress,” Allen begins.

Good storytelling requires strong characters regardless of genre or gender, Lucas says, using Star Wars as a reference point.

Among the most memorable for Allen (and audiences) is the scene when Indiana and Marion are trapped in the Well of the Souls, which took eight straight days to film.

As for those snakes, having grown up for a while in the countryside, Allen said she was fine with them — but not so much the tarantulas in the opening, a day she was happy to not be on the call sheet.

No one was in terrible danger with the pythons — unless you were in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Because of Star Wars, by the time she met the 38-year-old Ford, he was already a massive star.

“The thing that was challenging for me at the time was Harrison very much worked privately,” Allen says.

He didn’t much like to run lines with other actors.

Of their time on Raiders, Ford looks back warmly.

Having already played Han Solo twice by that time, Ford knew how to partner with the camera for big action moments, a skill Allen had to quickly learn.

But in a film like Raiders, you have to be very aware of where the camera is and what it is doing,” Allen says.

Allen vividly recalls the first “extremely intimidating” time she saw a cut of the film.

“I didn’t have a context for the style of film in my head, so it was like this revelation.

Paramount execs knew they had solid gold with Raiders, immediately sending Ford and Allen out on a publicly whirlwind

Not long after, the film opened — and took off like a rocket

And then you’re in a film like Raiders of the Lost Ark, it’s like all of that shifts

For some time, Allen considered Raiders a double-edged sword

“Being a young actor and Raiders being my fourth film — I had this desire to distance myself,” Allen says, explaining why she went back to the theater for more than a year even though she was told by some it a massive misstep

But Allen didn’t care

Allen would go on to appear in such classics as Scrooged (1988) and The Sandlot (1992) and reprise Marion in 2008’s Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, among her more than 60 film and television credits

“It’s been a journey for me to be in Raiders of the Lost Ark,” says Allen