Fred Ward

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Frederick "Fred" Ward (born December 30, 1942 in San Diego , California ) is an American actor .

biography

Fred Ward worked for some time in Alaska as a lumberjack and then was a professional soldier in the United States Army for three years . He later became a boxer and " martial arts " artist.

His interest in acting started relatively late. He completed his professional training at Herbert Berghof's New York drama studio. He then settled in Italy, where he worked as a narrator for English dubbed versions of Italian films. He made his film debut in Italy in 1973 in Roberto Rossellini's L'Età di Cosimo di Medici (1973). Another collaboration with Rossellini, Descartes , was to follow.

Ward returned to his Californian homeland and in the following years played a number of small and medium-sized roles in films such as alongside Jeff Bridges in the western In the Heart of the Wild West , alongside Brooke Shields in the comedy Flipper Queen - I Can Do It Best , alongside Jodie Foster in Fun fair , alongside Meryl Streep in Silkwood , as Gus Grissom in The Stuff Heroes Are Made of, or alongside Keith Carradine as a sadistic soldier in The Last Americans .

In 1979 he had his first major film role in Don Siegel's prison drama Escape from Alcatraz alongside Clint Eastwood . Three years later he played in the science fiction - B-Movie Time Rider - The Adventure of Lyle Swann also his first starring role. He also played a soldier alongside Gene Hackman in 1983 in The Daring Seven . In 1985 he achieved only moderate success as the action hero in the agent-espionage thriller Remo - unarmed and dangerous , despite the fact that the comic book had sold millions of copies. At first it was a little quieter for Ward, so he played the lead role in the adventure film Snow in Florida (1986), in the short film The Price of Life and a guest role in the series The Hitchhiker (both 1987). In 1988 he was seen again in 3 movies, as the father of Keanu Reeves in the family drama The Prince of Pennsylvania , as Roone Dimmick in the hit movie Two Times Two and as a policeman in the action thriller Saigon - Death Knows No Law .

In Catchfire he protects Jodie Foster from job killer Dennis Hopper as a policeman . Furthermore, followed in 1990 three major leading roles for him, as Henry Miller in Philip Kaufman's Henry & June , when deprived police officer in the crime - grotesque Miami Blues , in which he Alec Baldwin comes on the track and off Kevin Bacon in the cult - horror comedy Tremors - In the land of rocket worms . In the next few years he was seen frequently as a supporting actor, including in Halbblut , in Robert Altman's Hollywood satire The Player or as Mafioso Rocco Dillon in the parody Die nackte Kanone 33⅓ . Another time Ward was to play under Altman's direction: For his role in Short Cuts , he and the rest of the acting ensemble received the 1994 Golden Globe Award . After smaller, European projects such as Two Small Bodies alongside Suzy Amis or Alain Robbe-Grillet's novel - Un bruit qui rend fou , he appeared in the 1996 action thriller Out of Control alongside Keanu Reeves and Morgan Freeman , and in the sequel Tremors 2 - The return of the rocket worms . At the end of the 1990s, it was seen mixed in cinema productions and in so-called B-movies , as the market for direct-to-video productions grew.

From 2000 he was seen more often and played important supporting roles in major films such as Road Trip , Summer Catch , Joe Dreck , Enough - Everyone has a limit or as the father of Reese Witherspoon in Sweet Home Alabama - love in a roundabout way . Notable films are also 10.5 - The earth quakes (2004), Zauber der Liebe (2007), Exit Speed , Management (both 2008), the French thriller L'affaire Farewell , in which he embodies Ronald Reagan and The Secret of the Wild Mustang ( both 2009).

Today Fred Ward mainly plays in smaller roles, such as B. Armored (2009) , 30 Minutes or Less (2011), or 2 Guns (2013). In 2015 he was seen in 2 episodes of the US hit series True Detective . Rumors have it that he will appear again with Kevin Bacon in a planned TV series, another sequel to Tremors .

Filmography (selection)

Awards

  • 2001: Video Premiere Award - Full Disclosure (Nomination: Best Leading Role)
  • 1994: Cable ACE Award - well aimed is half hit (nomination: best supporting role)
  • 1994: Golden Globe Award together with the entire drama ensemble for short cuts
  • 1994: Prize of the Venice Film Festival together with the drama ensemble for short cuts

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Ward, Fred
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Ward, Frederick (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION US-American actor
DATE OF BIRTH December 30, 1942
PLACE OF BIRTH San Diego , California, USA