Of Fred Ward’s many memorable roles, his portrayal of Earl Bassett fighting off giant bugs in “Tremors” and real-life astronaut, Gus Grissom, in “The Right Stuff” were some of his most talked about. Film critic Robert Daniels tweeted, “Fred Ward was absurdly good. A professional in everything he did from TREMORS to THE PLAYER. He could even turn in a great performance is something as patently dumb as JOE DIRT. Totally underrated.” The actor had also won a Golden Globe Award and a special award at the Venice Film Festival, shared with the rest of the cast, for “Short Cuts” (via IMDb). “The unique thing about Fred Ward is that you never knew where he was going to pop up, so unpredictable were his career choices,” the statement by his publicist, Ron Hoffman, read (via The New York Times).
Ward specialized in embodying versatility in each of his action-oriented roles — from being an assassin in “Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins” to being a detective in “Two Small Bodies.” He even dipped his toes in romantic comedies when he played the role of Reese Witherspoon’s father in 2002’s “Sweet Home Alabama.” For all of his work, Ward will certainly be remembered.