Zack Ward on 41 years of 'A Christmas Story' and Scut Farkus
The actor will host a screening in the Detroit area on Friday, Dec. 13
Zack Ward has shared the screen with some memorable characters. He’s been skewered by a Decepticon in Transformers, stalked by Freddy Krueger in Freddy vs. Jason, and lugged gear for the Allman Brothers in Cameron Crowe’s Almost Famous. But his most iconic role — seen by millions year after year — is Scut Farkus, the yellow-eyed, fox-hat-wearing bully of the 1983 holiday classic, A Christmas Story.
This Friday, Ward and fellow A Christmas Story alum Yano Anaya— who played Scut’s pint-sized henchman, Grover Dill — will host a special screening of Bob Clark’s comedy at Emagine Theater in Rochester, Michigan. The event will also feature a VIP meet-and-greet and a Q&A session.
“I’ve never done a theatrical screening in Detroit before; this will be my first time,” Ward shared in a recent phone interview. “I’m excited to come out and meet the fans and watch the movie with them.”
Now in its 41st holiday season, A Christmas Story remains a beloved yuletide staple. For Ward, who grew up in Toronto and followed his actress mother into showbiz, the role of Scut Farkus was an unexpected twist of fate.
“It was a cattle call, me against 500 other kids,” Ward recalled. “You’d come in, say your lines, and leave, and they reviewed it on VHS later.”
Ward was originally cast as Grover Dill, but when director Bob Clark saw Ward towering over the diminutive Anaya, he made a decision that changed everything.
“I went out to set and stood next to Yano. Bob Clark came out, looked at us, and noticed I was taller,” Ward said. “He said, ‘Okay, you two, switch places.’ I went from being the sidekick to being the bully.”
As Scut Farkus, Ward delivered some of the film’s most unforgettable moments, whether leaping from monkey bars to torment Ralphie and his friends, twisting a kid’s arm to make him cry “uncle,” or ending up humiliated in the snow after Ralphie’s epic, profanity-laden takedown.
Ward credits Clark’s direction for giving Farkus unexpected depth.
“The genius is in Bob Clark’s direction,” Ward explained. “After the bully gets defeated and Ralphie’s mom walks away, there’s a shot of him sitting there. You see Scut Farkus just sitting there with a bloody nose, and it’s like taking the mask off. He’s just a kid; he’s just another person. It humanizes him.”
That nuance made Scut Farkus a character people both love and fear. “The most amazing thing about playing Scut Farkus is that I’m the most beloved and the most feared person this time of year,” Ward said.
To bring Farkus to life, Ward drew on his own experiences with bullies. “It was my own little revenge,” he laughed. But when the film initially hit theaters, his real-life bullies didn’t exactly cry “uncle.”
“Nobody cared,” Ward said bluntly. “A Christmas Story was not a success in theaters. It came out the same day as Rambo, and everyone was talking about Rambo, not our movie. It did not affect my life in any way.”
It wasn’t until years later, when A Christmas Story became a cult classic through TV reruns and holiday marathons, that Ward realized its impact.
“It was the 20th anniversary where it all clicked, and people were lining up to see it,” Ward said. “And now people come to see it with their kids and grandkids. They spend 24 hours on Christmas Eve with us. They watch it with their kids, their mom and dad, their grandparents. They share the rituals of their life with me.”
Ward’s career has spanned nearly 130 credits, including roles in Freddy vs. Jason and Almost Famous. In 2022, he returned to his roots, reprising Scut Farkus in A Christmas Story Christmas, a sequel that surprised fans with its heartfelt return to Hohman Indiana, which found a well-adjusted Farkus – now a police officer – sharing a sweet scene with Ralphie.
“We had been given the opportunity to do other sequels in the past, and we had declined because they were not in the spirit of Bob Clark or Jean Shepherd,” Ward explained. “But with Peter [Billingsley] producing, it just felt organic, it felt right.”
Despite his wide-ranging career, Ward embraces the legacy of Scut Farkus. “I feel very blessed and lucky,” he said. “I’m not Tom Cruise; I’m not a movie star. I’m a working actor. Having the opportunity to appear in something that’s universally beloved is wonderful.”
Zack Ward and A Christmas Story co-star Yano Anaya will host a special Q&A session and screening of the film on Friday, Dec. 13, at the Emagine Rochester. The event will be preceded by a VIP screening. More information is available on the Emagine website.