Roger Ward

Ward was born in Adelaide, South Australia in 1937.

His career began at an early age with roles on stage and radio. In his late teens he travelled to Tahiti to begin writing what became the controversial novel and film, The Set. The film was produced in 1970 but the novel was not published until 2011.

He was script editor for Homicide, adapted his novel Reflex into the film Brothers and wrote other documentaries and specials. Ward has appeared in over one hundred television shows and films, some of which featured stars such as Marlon Brando, Trevor Howard, Richard Harris, Barry Sullivan, Robert Lansing, Ryan O'Neal, Richard Benjamin, Tom Selleck, Paula Prentiss, Peter Graves, Alan Rickman, Steve Railsback, Olivia Hussey and Laura San Giacomo.

In Stone (1974) he played the comedic biker Hooks and in The Man From Hong Kong (1975) he played bumbling Australian policeman Bob Taylor. In The Irishman (1978) he was an Irish mounted policeman, and in Mad Max (1979), he played the police hall captain Fifi. Turkey Shoot (1982) saw him as Ritter the guard from hell, and in The Pirate Movie (1982) he was an all-singing, dancing pirate. In Quigley Down Under (1990) he played Brophy, one of the outlaw gang.

He played popular characters in TV series including long-running character Frank 'Weppo' Smith,{{Cite web|url=https://www.atvtoday.co.uk/95253-number96/|title=The Explosive Story of Number 96|date=12 April 2017|access-date=4 March 2020}} the Shakespeare-spouting garbage collector in Number 96, who has a romance with Norma Whittaker (Sheila Kennelly){{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article51589352 |title=Cancer Scare for Top Actor |newspaper=The Australian Women's Weekly |volume=48 |issue=26 |location=Australia, Australia |date=26 November 1980 |access-date=7 November 2022 |page=20 |via=National Library of Australia}} a boxer in Boys from the Bush and also appeared in The Sullivans.

Later independent films in which he was featured include Long Weekend (2008), Bad Behaviour (2010), the remake of Turkey Shoot (2014), Boar (2017) and The Faceless Man (2018).

He has a prominent role in the upcoming Indian film Thariode: The Lost City directed by Nirmal Baby Varghese.{{cite news|title=Australian star Roger Ward to make Indian debut with 'Thariode: The Lost City'|url=https://www.onmanorama.com/entertainment/entertainment-news/2020/07/17/roger-ward-to-make-indian-debut-thariode-the-lost-city.html|accessdate=19 July 2020|work=Onmanorama|date=17 July 2020}}

Ward won Best Supporting Actor at the Melbourne Underground Film Festival for his role in Bad Behaviour.

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Category:1937 births

Category:Australian male film actors

Category:Australian male television actors

Category:Living people

Category:Male actors from Adelaide