Fred Ward

Highest Rated: 98% The Player (1992)

Lowest Rated: 7% Corky Romano (2001)

Birthday: Dec 30, 1942

Birthplace: San Diego, California, USA

Tall, outdoorsy, easygoing, and known for giving consistently well-wrought, naturalistic performances, Fred Ward seems to have all the makings of a leading man, but for some reason he has had more success in supporting and character roles. He became an actor after a three-year Air Force stint and time spent studying at New York's 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 '70s, Ward spent time working in experimental theater and doing some television work. He made his first American film appearance playing a truck driver in Ginger in the Morning (1973). His first major role came in the Clint Eastwood vehicle Escape From Alcatraz (1979) as fellow escapee John Anglin. For Ward, 1983 was a very good year as he played key roles in three major films, Uncommon Valor, as an anguished Vietnam vet-turned-sculptor, Silkwood, as a brave union activist, and in a scene-stealing performance as Virgil "Gus" Grissom in Philip Kaufman's The Right Stuff. In 1985, Ward starred in Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins, a James Bond-ian spy thriller; this was to be the film that made Ward a leading man. Unfortunately, it fizzled at the box office. This led to more leading roles, but again, none were particularly successful and he returned to major supporting roles. Notable performances from the '90s include that of a beaten-down, humiliated cop in Miami Blues, (Ward also co-produced it), a fascinating portrayal of author Henry Miller in Henry & June (both 1990), and as the studio security chief in The Player (1992). His role alongside Kevin Bacon in 1990's Tremors found Ward's comic abilities sharp and in tact, and after again appearing alongside Tim Robbins in the 1992 satire Bob Roberts, the talented actor would continue through the 1990s with role in The Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult (1994), and the Keanu Reeves thriller Chain Reaction (1996). Increasingly busy into the new millennium, Ward continued to move effortlessly between television and film roles, displaying his sense of humor in Joe Dirt and Corky Romano (both 2001), and his penchant for action in The Chaos Factor (2000) and Full Disclosure the following year. He worked continuously in projects such as Enough and Sweet Home Alabama (both 2002), the Bob Dylan vehicle Masked and Anonymous, and appeared briefly on the hit television series Grey's Anatomy. In 2010 he was part of the cast of The United States of Tara, and the next year he appeared in the crime comedy 30 Minutes or Less.

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Highest Rated Movies

Filmography

Movies

		Credit
64%	2 Guns	Admiral Tuwey	$73.6M	2013
No Score Yet	One Direction: All for One	Actor	—	2012
No Score Yet	Luck, Trust & Ketchup: Robert Altman in Carver Country	Actor	—	2011
86%	Farewell (L'affaire Farewell)	Ronald Reagan	$0.4M	2010
40%	Armored	Ashcroft	$16M	2009
No Score Yet	The Wild Stallion	Frank	—	2009
47%	Management	Jerry	$0.9M	2009
No Score Yet	Exit Speed	Sgt. Archie Sparks	—	2008
40%	Feast of Love	Bat	$3.5M	2007
No Score Yet	Funky Monkey	Don Decker	—	2004
No Score Yet	The Last Ride	Darryl Kurtz	—	2004
No Score Yet	10.5	Roy Nolan	—	2004
25%	Masked and Anonymous	Drunk	$0.2M	2003
16%	Abandon	Lt. Bill Stayton	$10.7M	2002
38%	Sweet Home Alabama	Earl	$127.3M	2002
22%	Enough	Jupiter	$39.2M	2002
7%	Corky Romano	Leo Corrigan	—	2001
8%	Summer Catch	Sean Dunne	$19.1M	2001
11%	Joe Dirt	Joe's Dad	$27.1M	2001
No Score Yet	Proximity	Actor	—	2001
No Score Yet	Red Team (The Crimson Code)	Randall Brooks	—	2001
No Score Yet	Wild Iris	Errol Podubney	—	2001
9%	Circus	Elmo	—	2000
No Score Yet	The Chaos Factor	Max Camden	—	2000
58%	Road Trip	Earl Edwards	—	2000
22%	The Crow - Salvation	Police Captain	—	2000
No Score Yet	The Vivero Letter	Drew Fallon	—	2000
No Score Yet	Full Disclosure	John McWhirter	—	1999
13%	Best Men	Sheriff Bud Phillips	—	1998
No Score Yet	Forgotten City	Drew	—	1998
68%	Dangerous Beauty	Domenico Venier	—	1998
No Score Yet	Invasion Earth	Actor	—	1998
No Score Yet	Jamás Causaré Daño	Dave Reimuller	—	1997
16%	Chain Reaction	Agt. Leon Ford	—	1996
63%	Tremors 2: Aftershocks	Earl	—	1996
No Score Yet	Un bruit qui rend fou (The Blue Villa)	Frank	—	1995
54%	The Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult	Rocco	—	1994
No Score Yet	Two Small Bodies	Lt. Brann	—	1994
95%	Short Cuts	Stuart Kane	—	1993
No Score Yet	The Dark Wind	Lt. Joe Leaphorn	—	1993
No Score Yet	Four Eyes and Six-Guns	Wyatt Earp	—	1993
97%	Bob Roberts	News Anchor Chip Daley	—	1992
33%	Equinox	Paris	—	1992
98%	The Player	Walter Stuckel	—	1992
88%	Thunderheart	Jack Milton	—	1992
No Score Yet	Cast a Deadly Spell	Det. Harry Philip Lovecraft	—	1991
50%	Catchfire (Backtrack)	Pauling	—	1990
62%	Henry & June	Henry Miller	—	1990
81%	Miami Blues	Executive Producer Sgt. Hoke Moseley	—	1990
85%	Tremors	Earl Basset	—	1990
14%	The Prince of Pennsylvania	Gary Marshetta	—	1988
44%	Big Business	Roone Dimmick	—	1988
50%	Off Limits	Dix	—	1988
No Score Yet	Florida Straits	Lucky Boone	—	1987
No Score Yet	UFOria	Sheldon Bart	—	1986
41%	Remo Williams - The Adventure Begins	Remo Williams	—	1985
30%	Secret Admirer	Lou Fimple	—	1985
87%	Swing Shift	Biscuits Toohey	—	1984
No Score Yet	Noon Wine	Royal Earle Thompson	—	1984
56%	Uncommon Valor	Wilkes	—	1983
77%	Silkwood	Morgan	—	1983
98%	The Right Stuff	Grissom	—	1983
No Score Yet	Timerider	Lyle Swann	—	1983
No Score Yet	Time Rider	Actor	—	1983
82%	Southern Comfort	Reece	—	1981
No Score Yet	Coast to Coast	Hal Kessler	—	1980
No Score Yet	Carny	Jack	—	1980
96%	Escape From Alcatraz	John Anglin	—	1979
No Score Yet	Tilt	Lenny	—	1979
No Score Yet	Ginger in the Morning	Truck Driver	—	1974

TV

		Credit
No Score Yet	In Plain Sight 2008-2012		2010
85%	United States of Tara 2009-2011	Frank	2010 2009
No Score Yet	ER 1994-2009	Eddie	2006
81%	Grey's Anatomy 2005	Denny Duquette Sr.	2006
No Score Yet	American Playhouse 1982-1996		1985
No Score Yet	The Incredible Hulk 1978-1982	Henchman	1979
57%	Gun 1997

QUOTES FROM Fred Ward CHARACTERS

Henry Miller says: People worry too much about money and ignore their inner self.

Sheldon says: You have the pink slips?

Brother Roy says: Pink slips? You got my word on it.

Gus Grissom says: F#@%in-A bubba

Gus Grissom says: F***in-A bubba.

Earl Bassett says: You smoked his ass

Earl Bassett says: You smoked his ass.

Burt Gummer says: Doing what I can with what I got

Burt Gummer says: Doing what I can with what I got.

Earl Bassett says: Man, Burt, you put a whole new spin on the word "Overkill"

Earl Bassett says: Man, Burt, you put a whole new spin on the word 'overkill'

Burt Gummer says: When you need it and don't have it, you sing a different tune.

Gus Grissom says: "No bucks, No Buck Rogers."

Gus Grissom says: No bucks, No Buck Rogers.

Earl Bassett says: [to Grady] You know, you might come in useful. While they are eating you it will give me a chance to get away.

Earl Basset says: I vote for outer space. No way these are local boys

Earl Basset says: I vote for outer space. No way these are local boys.

Earl Basset says: We gotta run. We've got a schedule to keep.

Valentine McKee says: Yeah. See, we plan ahead, that way we don't do anything right now. Earl explained it to me.

Col. Rhodes says: We'll need transportation... preferably four-wheel drive.

Wilkes says: Buy it or "borrow" it?

Wilkes says: Buy it or 'borrow' it?

Col. Rhodes says: Steal the fucker!

Gus Grissom says: I did NOT do anything wrong. The hatch just BLEW. It was a GLITCH. It was a- a TECHNICAL MALFUNCTION. Why in hell won't anyone believe me?

Earl Smooter says: You can't ride two horses with one ass, sugarbean.