He’s an actor, screen writer, musician and one-time casting
director who has worked with some of Hollywood’s finest. But at
heart Kirk Ward will always be a Hollisterite.
Hollister – He’s an actor, screen writer, musician and one-time casting director who has worked with some of Hollywood’s finest. But at heart Kirk Ward will always be a Hollisterite.
Ward, who was born and raised in Hollister, recently finished filming his role as a villain in a new sci-fi movie, “The Island.” In one scene the former San Benito High School football player battles with the film’s protagonist, Ewan McGregor.
Ward said working the film’s director Michael Bay (“Bad Boys,” “The Rock,” “Armageddon,” “Pearl Harbor”) was an “amazing experience.” Since Ward used to park Bay’s silver Mercedes-Benz (and a slew of other exotic automobiles) when he worked at the Beverly Hills Hotel, working with “the king of action” was a big deal.
“I have a really good-size role,” Ward said. He even has two scenes (a third was cut) with the film’s co-star, Scarlett Johansson.
Ward has worked with some of Hollywood’s biggest stars, including Tom Hanks, Denzel Washington and Robert DeNiro. He claims he has never been star-struck.
“There’s no ‘oh my god’ – it’s just work,” Ward said.
Ward, a self-taught actor, graduated from SBHS in 1989 and went on to junior college, but dropped out after a friend told him a theater arts major was a waste of money. He then moved up to San Francisco, where he lived in a tool shed that lacked a bathroom for a short time, before moving to Los Angeles, where he has been working steadily ever since.
“I have no regrets, I feel like I’m just beginning,” Ward said.
Life in Los Angeles hasn’t always been easy. Ward spent his first night in the city sleeping in his car. After that he slept on the couch at a friend’s place before getting his own apartment.
Later, out of work, he found himself again broke and in need of cheaper place. Ward moved into a garage in East Los Angeles, where he underwent an ordeal that shaped the rest of his life.
After the “worst rain storm ever” the roof of the garage collapsed and he watched as his scant possessions float around in a pool of water on the garage floor. Circumstances became truly dire when his car broke down and he had nowhere to go.
“I knew at that moment I couldn’t turn back. I had to keep going forward,” Ward said.
Things are much better now for Ward. He has a wife, a house, and two cars. His mornings are spent at the office working on a variety of projects with fellow screen writer Joe Jarvis (“Sorority Boys”) and works to further his acting career with auditions. Ward has had small roles in dozens of movies (including “Forrest Gump,” and “Lords of Dogtown”) and appeared in nearly as many television shows (including “Invasion Iowa,” “Tenacious D” and “Malcolm in the Middle”).
Ward is planning an independent film, currently titled “Rollers,” about Hollister in the 1980s. He describes the project, which he hopes to shoot on location, as “‘American Graffiti’ meets ‘Vision Quest.'”
“It’s a ways away,” Ward said. “But it’s my love letter to Hollister.”
In many ways, Hollister will always be home for Ward. Many friends and family members have influenced his career, especially his mother and friends Joe Marcus and Charles Filice.
“If I could live in Hollister and work in Hollywood, I would,” Ward said.
Brett Rowland covers education for the Free Lance. He can be reached at 831-637-5566 ext. 330 or
br******@fr***********.com
