| Simon Ward | |
|---|---|
| Born | Simon Ward 19 October 1941 Beckenham, Kent, England, UK |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1964–present |
Simon Ward (born 19 October 1941) is an English stage and film actor.
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Simon Ward was born in Beckenham, Kent,[1] near London, the son of a car dealer. From an early age he wanted to be an actor. He was educated at Alleyn's School, London, the home of the National Youth Theatre, which he joined at age 13 and stayed with for eight years. Trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, he made his professional stage debut with the Northampton Repertory in 1963 and his London theatrical bow one year later in The 4th of June. After the Royal Academy, he worked in repertory in Northampton, Birmingham and Oxford and occasionally in London's West End.
His big break in theatre came in 1967 when he played in Joe Orton's Loot, which led to a number of small film and television roles. All of Ward's major film roles were in the 1970s. He starred with some of the finest actors and directors of the time and in some of the most prestigious and popular films made during that decade.
Persistent rumours suggest his first film appearance was an uncredited role as one of the sociopathic students in Lindsay Anderson's If.... (1968). Although this has never been verified, his participation in the film is still listed in his IMDb's actor's credits.[2]
In 1972, he played the title role of Winston Churchill in Young Winston. This was the role which brought him to national prominence, and thereafter the in-demand Ward starred in several high profile films during the mid-to-late 1970s.
The following year he played the Duke of Buckingham in Richard Lester's The Three Musketeers (1973) and The Four Musketeers (1974), and also in 1974 he played author/veterinarian James Herriot in the successful film adaptation of All Creatures Great and Small. He played one of the lead roles (Lt. Crawford) in the 1976 aerial adventure Aces High, then starred as Lt. William Vereker in the 1979 film Zulu Dawn. He was also seen as a fictional Nazi functionary (the sympathetic one, with whom the audience is supposed to identify) in Hitler: The Last Ten Days (1973). Later film roles included Zor-El in Supergirl (1984).
In 1986, Ward starred in the title role of Ross, the first West End revival of Terence Rattigan's play since its original run in 1960. It toured the UK and after a run at the Royal Alexandra Theatre, Toronto opened at The Old Vic and featured Marc Sinden as Dickinson, with David Langton, Roland Curram, Bruce Montague and Ernest Clark in supporting roles.
Simon Ward has made few movies since the 1970s, although he did have a major role in the Ralph Fiennes version of Wuthering Heights made in 1992, which also starred Ward's daughter Sophie Ward.
In 1995, at very short notice, he took over Stephen Fry's role in the play Cell Mates, after Fry walked out of the play near the start of its run.
From 2001-07 he appeared as Sir Monty Everard in the popular BBC television series Judge John Deed and in 2007-10 as Bishop Stephen Gardiner in The Tudors.
In 2010, Ward appeared in the title role in the British tour of Alan Bennett's play The Madness of George III.
Ward's third and youngest daughter Kitty, is married to British stand-up comedian Michael McIntyre.[3]