Playing a detestable character had put actorZack Wardon the receiving end of antagonism fromA Christmas Storyfans for years. In the classic holiday film, released by director Bob Clark in 1983, Ward played the role of Scut Farkus, the neighborhood bully. After tormenting the protagonist, Scut ends up getting his comeuppance when the younger and smaller Ralphie Parker (Peter Billingsley) snaps and beats up the bully, giving him a bloody nose for his troubles.
Reflecting on his time as Scut Farkus in an interview withInsider, Ward notes how the reactions he gets from fans are greatly different now compared to what they used to be. He says that over the past two decades, his fan interactions have been more pleasant, but in the years followingA Christmas Story, he found that he was constantly getting antagonized by fans of the film, even if they couldn’t immediately place where they recognized him from.
“In the last 20 years, it’s turned into a wonderful experience where people are really sweet and kind. Before that, they weren’t quite sure where they knew me from. So they’d look at me like I kicked their dog. Cause they’d be like, ‘I know that guy’s a bad guy. Where do I know him from?'”
That wasn’t the worst of it, as some fans would take their antagonism to the next level if there was alcohol involved. Ward says he has memories of going out at night when drunk fans ofA Christmas Storywould literally attempt to physically start a fight with him.
“If they were drunk, if I was in a bar or out at night and someone was a little in their cups, they would literally start to get in my face and start a problem, which was very discombobulating.”
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Fans Still Poke Fun at Zack Ward Over Scut Farkus Getting Beaten Up
These days, Ward says that people aren’t quite so mean to him personally. They typically are satisfied with the scene of Ralphie getting revenge on Scut, as that’s what most fans tend to remind Ward of whenever they recognize him in public. For what it’s worth, Ward doesn’t sweat it too much, just happy that the scene served to entertain so many people.
“People just saw me and got a big smile on their face, and they’d usually say, ‘You got your ass beat.’ I’m like, ‘Yes, I did, I’m glad that brought you joy.'”
Farkus has since reprised the role forthe new legacy sequelthat recently premiered on streaming. You can stream bothA Christmas Storyand its legacy sequelA Christmas Story Christmason HBO Max.
