The "Mission: Impossible III" director said he was stunned the way Ford handled the accident, which involved his character Han Solo's spacecraft, reported Contactmusic.
"The guy is like a real-life superhero. We actually were filming a scene and there was an accident on set, there was a hydraulic door that went down.
"He was pushed down and his ankle goes 90 degrees. And he's down there and he's toughing it out. He's a super human being and he's literally lying there making jokes," Abrams said.
Abrams said, after the accident, due to which the 73-year-old actor had to take an extended break from filming, he realised even he had hurt himself while trying to lift the door.
"I heard a 'pop' and I'm like, 'Uh, that's weird.' So I go to the doctor a couple days later and he goes, 'Oh, you have a broken back'.