Fred Ward
Fred Ward | |
|---|---|
| Born | Freddie Joe Ward December 30, 1942 San Diego, California |
| Occupation(s) | Actor, film producer |
| Years active | 1973–present |
| Spouse(s) | Marie-France Ward, Silvia Ward |
Freddie Joe "Fred" Ward (born December 30, 1942) is an American actor. He began his film career in 1979 alongside Clint Eastwood in Escape from Alcatraz. His notable roles include Southern Comfort, The Right Stuff, Remo Williams, his self-produced movie Miami Blues, Tremors, Henry & June, The Player, Short Cuts, Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult, Tremors II: Aftershocks, Chain Reaction, Road Trip, Management as well as character roles in many action, drama, comedy, thriller, TV and b-movies. Ward also acted in European movies.
Early life
Ward was born Freddie Joe Ward[1] in San Diego, California. He is of part Cherokee Native American descent.[2] Before acting, Ward spent three years in the United States Air Force. He was also a boxer (breaking his nose three times) and worked as a lumberjack in Alaska.[3][4]
Career
'70s and '80s
Ward became an actor after studying at Herbert Berghof Studio and in Rome. While in Italy, he dubbed Italian movies and worked as a mime until he made his debut in two Roberto Rossellini films. Upon returning stateside in the early 1970s, Ward spent time working in experimental theater and doing some television work. He made his first American film appearance playing a cowboy in Hearts of the West (1975). His first major role came in the Clint Eastwood vehicle Escape from Alcatraz (1979) as fellow escapee John Anglin. He was also notable as a violent National Guardsman in Walter Hill's Southern Comfort (1981).
His first starring role in a motion picture was Timerider: The Adventure of Lyle Swann (1982). He then starred as astronaut Gus Grissom in The Right Stuff, in the action movie Uncommon Valor with Gene Hackman and in the drama Silkwood (all 1983).
Remo Williams
After co-starring roles in Swing Shift (1984) and Secret Admirer (1985) he played the title hero in the action movie Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins, which was directed by ex-James Bond-director Guy Hamilton. The film was supposed to be the first of a series based on The Destroyer series of novels.[5] Though the movie was well-promoted, with Ward appearing on the cover of several movie magazines, it only grossed $15,000,000. He confirmed that he did most of the dangerous stunts by himself.[citation needed]
Ward played in a few low-budget productions until he returned to major cinema in 1988 as a cop in Off Limits, as Roone Dimmick in Big Business and the father of Keanu Reeves in The Prince of Pennsylvania.
1990s
In 1990 he starred as Earl Bassett in the cult classic monster movie Tremors (with Kevin Bacon), as the American erotic writer Henry Miller in Henry & June (with Uma Thurman) and as cop Hoke Moseley, whose gun, badge and dentures are stolen, in Ward's own-produced motion picture Miami Blues (with Alec Baldwin and Jennifer Jason Leigh).
After playing H.P. Lovecraft in the 1991 HBO TV movie Cast a Deadly Spell alongside Julianne Moore, he decided to only play co-starring roles as a character actor in the thriller Thunderheart, the Hollywood satire The Player, the mystery-drama Equinox and the TV western-comedy Four Eyes and Six Guns. He also did a cameo in Bob Roberts.
Notable leading roles include Lt. Brann in the two-character-thriller Two Small Bodies, fisherman Stuart Kane in the Robert Altman film Short Cuts (for which the whole ensemble won a Golden Globe) (both 1993), a dangerous criminal in the comedy Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult (1994), the sailor in the French-avant-garde-drama The Blue Villa (1995), plus his reprised role in Tremors II: Aftershocks and the Special Agent in Chain Reaction (both 1996). He also appeared as Sheriff Bud Phillips in Best Men, as Dave Reimüller in ...First Do No Harm with Meryl Streep (both 1997) and as Domenico Venier in Dangerous Beauty (1998).
2000s
In the new millennium Ward was seen in many motion pictures, but also in productions made for TV and video. In 2000 he starred in the action-thriller The Chaos Factor and co-starred in the gangster-movie Circus, the teen-movie Road Trip and as the Captain in the horror-sequel The Crow: Salvation.
In 2001 he was nominated for Video Premiere Award as the best male for the direct-to-video-production Full Disclosure. He also co-starred in Joe Dirt, Summer Catch, Wild Iris, the mini-TV-series Dice and the comedic Corky Romano.
In 2002 he co-starred in Sweet Home Alabama, Enough and Abandon. He had the starring role in Birdseye and signed in for the TV pilot for the drama Georgetown with Helen Mirren, but the series was never made. So, after roles in The Last Ride, 10.5 and Coast to Coast (all 2004) he took a short break from acting and returned as a guest in the TV series Grey's Anatomy and ER (2006 and 2007).
He then starred in the ensemble drama Feast of Love, in the brutal action-filled thriller Exit Speed, Management with Jennifer Aniston and as the boss Ashcroft in Armored.
He starred as Ronald Reagan in the political-thriller L'affaire Farewell (2009). He appeared in 30 Minutes or Less. He guest starred in the TV series United States of Tara, In Plain Sight and is up to star in an episode of Leverage in 2012.
Personal life
Ward is divorced from Silvia Ward and is currently married to Marie-France Ward. He also has one son and lives in Venice, California.
Awards
- 1993: Volpi Cup – Short Cuts
- 1993: Golden Globe – Short Cuts
- 1994: CableACE Award – Four Eyes and Six Guns (Nomination)
- 2001: Video Premiere Award – Full Disclosure (Nomination)
Filmography
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 | The Power of Cosimo (L'età di Cosimo de Medici) | Niccolò de Conti | TV |
| 1974 | Cartesius | TV | |
| 1975 | Hearts of the West | Sam | |
| 1978 | Tilt | ||
| Quincy M.E.: Even Odds | Crane | TV episode | |
| 1979 | Escape from Alcatraz | John Anglin | 1 |
| The Incredible Hulk | Henchman/Marvin | 2 TV episodes | |
| 1980 | UFOria | Waylon Jennings Imitator, Sheldon Bart | |
| Carny | Jack | ||
| Cardiac Arrest | Jamie | ||
| Belle Starr | Ned Christie | TV | |
| 1981 | Southern Comfort | Cpl. Lonnie Reece | |
| 1982 | Timerider: The Adventure of Lyle Swann | Lyle Swann | |
| 1983 | Silkwood | Morgan | 1 |
| Uncommon Valor | Wilkes | 5 | |
| The Right Stuff | Capt. Virgil Ivan Gus Grissom | 6 | |
| 1984 | Swing Shift | Archibald "Biscuits" Toue | 9 |
| 1985 | Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins | Remo Williams, Samuel Edward Macon | 4 |
| Secret Admirer | Lt. Lou Fimple | 9 | |
| Noon Wine | Royal Earle Thompson | TV | |
| 1986 | Florida Straits | Lucky Boone | TV, later cinema |
| 1987 | The Price of Life | Crouch | Short feature |
| The Hitchhiker: Dead Heat | Luther Redmond | TV episode | |
| 1988 | Catchfire | Police Officer Pauling | |
| The Prince of Pennsylvania | Gary Marshetta | ||
| Big Business | Roone Dimmick | 3 | |
| Off Limits | Sgt. Benjamin Dix | 4 | |
| 1990 | Henry & June | Henry Miller, Soundtrack | 10 |
| Miami Blues | Sgt. Hoke Moseley, Producer | ||
| Tremors | Earl Bassett | 5 | |
| 1991 | Cast a Deadly Spell | Det. Harry Phillips Lovecraft | TV event
|
| The Dark Wind | Joe Leaphorn | ||
| 1992 | Four Eyes and Six Guns | Wyatt Earp | TV |
| The Player | Walter Stuckel | 4 | |
| Equinox | Mr. Paris | ||
| Thunderheart | Jack Milton | 5 | |
| Bob Roberts | TV News Anchor Chip Daley | ||
| 1993 | Luck, Trust & Ketchup | Himself | Documentary |
| Short Cuts | Stuart Kane | ||
| Two Small Bodies | Lieutenant Brann | Festival event, also TV production | |
| 1994 | Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult | Rocco Dillon | 1 |
| 1995 | Un bruit qui rend fou | Frank, the sailor | Festival event |
| 1996 | The West | Himself (voice) | Documentary |
| Chain Reaction | FBI Agent Leon Ford | 4 | |
| Tremors 2: Aftershocks | Earl Bassett | Direct-to-video | |
| 1997 | …First Do No Harm | Dave Reimüller | TV event |
| Best Men | Sheriff Bud Phillips | ||
| Gun: Father John | John Farragut | TV episode | |
| 1998 | The Making of Tremors | Himself/Earl Bassett (Archive Footage) | Documentary |
| The Vivero Letter | Andrew Fallon | ||
| Invasion: Earth | Major General David Reece | TV mini-series | |
| Dangerous Beauty | Domenico Venier | 16 | |
| 1999 | The Crimson Code | Randall Brooks | |
| 2000 | The Crow: Salvation | John, the Police Captain | |
| Ropewalk | David's Father | ||
| The Chaos Factor | Max Camden | ||
| Circus | Elmo Somerset | 96 | |
| Road Trip | Earl Edwards | 3 | |
| Jackie Bouvier Kennedy Onassis | "Black Jack" Bouvier | TV | |
| 2001 | Summer Catch | Sean Dunne | 6 |
| Corky Romano | Leo Corrigan | 3 | |
| Joe Dirt | Cody Nunamaker | 4 | |
| Full Disclosure | John McWhirter | Nomination Video Premiere Award – Best Actor | |
| Wild Iris | Errol Podubney | TV event | |
| Dice | Gacy/Noah Aldis | TV mini-series | |
| 2002 | Live from Baghdad | (Archive Footage) | TV special/documentary |
| Enough | Jupiter | 5 | |
| Sweet Home Alabama | Earl Smooter | 1 | |
| Birdseye | Sheriff Nolan Sharpless | ||
| Abandon | Lieutenant Bill Stayton | 7 | |
| 2003 | Masked & Anonymous | Drunk | 45 |
| T-20 Years and Counting | Gus Grissom/Himself (Archive Footage) | Documentary | |
| Realizing "The Right Stuff" | Himself | Documentary | |
| "Masked & Anonymous" Exposed | Special Thanks | Documentary | |
| 2004 | The Last Ride | Darryl Kurtz | TV event |
| 10.5 | Roy Nolan | TV event | |
| Coast to Coast | Hal Kressler | TV event | |
| 2006 | ER | Eddie | 3 TV episodes |
| Grey's Anatomy | Mr. Denny Duquette, Sr. | TV episode "What I Am" | |
| 2007 | Feast of Love | Bat | |
| 2008 | Management | Jerry | |
| Exit Speed | Sergeant Archie Sparks | ||
| 2009 | Armored | Ashcroft | |
| L'affaire Farewell | Ronald Reagan | ||
| The Wild Stallion | Frank Mills | ||
| United States of Tara | Frank | 2 TV episodes | |
| 2010 | In Plain Sight | Frank Jerome | Episode 3.6 |
| 2011 | 30 Minutes or Less | The Major | |
| 2013 | 2 Guns | Admiral Tuwey |
References
- ^ According to the State of California. California Birth Index, 1905–1995. Center for Health Statistics, California Department of Health Services, Sacramento, California. Searchable at http://www.familytreelegends.com/records/39461
- ^ "Worcester Telegram & Gazette Archives".
- ^ Mitchell, Sean (April 15, 1990). "Exploring the Dark Side-as a Producer Actor Fred Ward's tenacity brings the comically sordid world of 'Miami Blues' to the screen".
- ^ Wuntch, Philip. "dallasnews.com – Archives".
- ^ Mathews, Jack (October 18, 1985). "Will The Adventure Go on For Remo Williams?". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 4, 2010.
External links
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
- 1942 births
- 20th-century American male actors
- 21st-century American male actors
- American male film actors
- American film producers
- American people of Cherokee descent
- American people of Native American descent
- American male stage actors
- American male television actors
- Living people
- Male actors from San Diego, California
- United States Air Force airmen