Fred Ward
Fred Ward (born December 30, 1942) is an American actor and producer. Starting with a role in an Italian television film in 1973, Ward has had a long and diverse career, including such films as "Escape from Alcatraz", "Southern Comfort", "The Right Stuff", "", "Tremors" and "", "Henry & June", "The Player", "Swing Shift" and "Short Cuts". Early life. Ward was born in San Diego, California. He is of part Cherokee descent. 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 , janitor, and short-order cook. He studied acting at New York's Herbert Berghof Studio after serving in the U.S. Air Force. While living in Rome, he dubbed Italian films into English and appeared in films by neorealist director Roberto Rossellini. Career. 1970s and 1980s. 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 theatre 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 "" (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). Section::::"Remo Williams". After co-starring roles in "Swing Shift" (1984) and "Secret Admirer  (1985) he played the title hero in the action movie ", which was directed by Guy Hamilton. The film was supposed to be the first of a series based on The Destroyer" series of novels. Though the movie was well promoted, with Ward appearing on the cover of several movie magazines, it only grossed $15 million. He confirmed that he performed most of the stunts himself. 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 ' character in "The Prince of Pennsylvania". 1990s. In 1990 he starred as Earl Bassett in the monster movie "Tremors," 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 self-produced motion picture "Miami Blues" (with Alec Baldwin and Jennifer Jason Leigh). That year he also played an FBI agent in Dennis Hopper's film Catchfire. After playing private detective H.P. Lovecraft in the 1991 HBO film "Cast a Deadly Spell" alongside Julianne Moore, Ward co-starred in the thriller "Thunderheart", the  Hollywood satire "The Player", the mystery-drama "Equinox" and the TV western-comedy "Four Eyes and Six Guns", for which he won a Cable ACE Award. He also did a cameo in "Bob Roberts", starring Tim Robbins. 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 "" (1994), the sailor in the French-avant-garde-drama "The Blue Villa" (1995), plus his reprised role in "" 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 "". 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, "The Wild Stallion" and as the boss Ashcroft in "Armored". He guest starred as Ronald Reagan in the French political-thriller "L'affaire Farewell" (2009). He appeared in "30 Minutes or Less", guest starred in the TV series "United States of Tara", "In Plain Sight" and "Leverage" in 2012. In 2013 he had a guest role in "2 Guns" starring Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg. Personal life. Ward lives in Venice , California. His first marriage, to Carla Evonne Stewart in 1965, ended in divorce the following year. His second marriage was to Silvia Ward, with whom he had a son, Django. After they divorced, he married Marie-France Boisselle in 1995 and she filed for divorce in August 2013, but they reconciled later that year.