{"id":7667,"date":"2026-07-16T13:24:34","date_gmt":"2026-07-16T08:24:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=7667"},"modified":"2026-07-16T13:24:34","modified_gmt":"2026-07-16T08:24:34","slug":"barry-ward-on-everybody-digs-bill-evans-netflix-series-grown-ups","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=7667","title":{"rendered":"Barry Ward on &#8216;Everybody Digs Bill Evans,&#8217; Netflix Series &#8216;Grown Ups&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n\tIrish star <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/t\/barry-ward\/\" id=\"auto-tag_barry-ward_1\" data-tag=\"barry-ward\">Barry Ward<\/a> (<em>Bad Sisters<\/em>, <em>The End of the F***ing World<\/em>) has a busy work schedule, but he visited the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/movies\/movie-news\/inside-karlovy-vary-2026-double-anniversary-visual-identity-1236615609\/\">60th edition<\/a>\u00a0of the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/movies\/movie-news\/karlovy-vary-film-festival-2026-jafar-panahi-nader-saeivar-1236610459\/\">Karlovy Vary International Film Festival<\/a>\u00a0(<a href=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/t\/kviff\/\">KVIFF<\/a>)\u00a0last week to introduce one of his latest films.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n\tWard has actually attended the Czech festival several years in a row now. \u201cI was invited in 2023 to be a jury member for the main competition and had the time of my life,\u201d he tells <em>THR<\/em>. Another member of that jury was Slovenian director Olmo Omerzu. \u201cOver the course of the week, he cast me in his next film. So, some months later, we made his film <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/movies\/movie-reviews\/ungrateful-beings-czech-anorexia-drama-1236378808\/\">Ungrateful Beings<\/a><\/em> and almost a year to the day of meeting him, we wrapped on that film [which premiered at San Sebastian], and we came straight back to Karlovy Vary for the next festival to celebrate.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n\tThis year, Ward traveled to Karlovy Vary with British documentary director Grant Gee\u2019s fiction feature debut\u00a0<em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/movies\/movie-news\/everybody-digs-bill-evans-film-clip-interview-jazz-berlin-1236503412\/\">Everybody Digs Bill Evans<\/a><\/em>, which <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/movies\/movie-reviews\/everybody-digs-bill-evans-review-anders-danielsen-lie-1236504926\/\">premiered at Berlin<\/a> and stars Norwegian actor and Joachim Trier regular Anders Danielsen Lie (<em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/movies\/movie-features\/sentimental-value-editor-interview-original-runtime-1236501711\/\">Sentimental Value<\/a><\/em>,\u00a0<em>The Worst Person in the World<\/em>),\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/t\/laurie-metcalf\/\">Laurie Metcalf<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/tv\/tv-news\/bill-pullman-gypsy-rose-blanchard-wendy-williams-documentaries-interviews-1235923096\/\">Bill Pullman<\/a> and Ward. He portrays jazz legend Bill Evans\u2019 older brother Harry. The Irish actor introduced a jam-packed screening at the Czech fest and found time to chat with <em>THR<\/em> about the movie and upcoming projects.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n\tAs an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/t\/international\/\" id=\"auto-tag_international_1\" data-tag=\"international\">international<\/a> co-production between the U.S., U.K. and Ireland, there were auditions for Irish actors for <em>Everybody Digs Bill Evans<\/em>. \u201cI was sent the script and asked to tape for it, and I loved it,\u201d Ward recalls. \u201cMy character was in two scenes, but I loved the scenes. It was a Mark O\u2019Halloran (<em>Adam &amp; Paul<\/em>,\u00a0<em>Viva<\/em>) script, and I love his writing, and I just loved the world of it.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"post-content-image \/\/  \">\n<figure class=\"o-figure   size-large alignnone lrv-u-max-width-100p\" style=\"width:3000px\">\n<div class=\"c-lazy-image  \">\n<div class=\"lrv-a-crop-16x9\" style=\"padding-bottom:calc((1622\/3000)*100%);\">\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"c-lazy-image__img lrv-u-background-color-grey-lightest lrv-u-width-100p lrv-u-display-block lrv-u-height-auto\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/wp-content\/themes\/vip\/pmc-hollywoodreporter-2021\/assets\/public\/lazyload-fallback.gif\" data-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Photo-Credit-Shane-OConnor-_-Copyright-2026-Cowtown-Pictures-Limited_Hot-Property-BE-Limited.jpg?w=3000\" alt=\"\" data-lazy-srcset=\"\" data-lazy-sizes=\"\" height=\"1622\" width=\"3000\" decoding=\"async\"\/><\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div><figcaption class=\"c-figcaption  lrv-u-padding-tb-025\">\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"a-font-secondary-s lrv-u-margin-r-025\">Anders Danielsen Lie (left) and Will Sach in \u2018Everybody Digs Bill Evans.\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<cite class=\"a-font-accent-uppercase-xs lrv-u-color-grey-dark\">Courtesy of Shane O\u2019Connor\/Cowtown Pictures Limited\/Hot Property<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n\tThe fact that this is a supporting role gave him no pause. \u201cThey gave me a one-page treatment, you know, \u2018This is what it\u2019s about, this is where it\u2019s set,\u2019\u201d he shares. \u201cAnd I just thought, \u2018Oh, this is a job I would fucking love.\u2019 So, I worked harder on that audition than I have on many others over the years, sent in the tape and got offered the part.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n\tWard portrays Harry Evans as a deeply torn character. \u201cHe finds himself in that really difficult position, a dilemma \u2013 namely looking after his younger brother, whom he loves, and trying to take him into the family home. And he obviously loves and wants to protect his family too. And then he is finding that the two don\u2019t really fit together so well, and ultimately he makes a decision: \u2018I can\u2019t give you the help you need. You have to go elsewhere for that.\u2019 And he has to send his brother away. And it\u2019s heartbreaking, because he is a good man trying to do good things, but finding himself in an impossible situation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n\tAnd he finds himself having to live with his tough choice. \u201cHe has to live with that forever,\u201d Ward says. \u201cAnd it\u2019s his younger brother, where we are duty-bound and instinctively, genetically bound to try and protect younger siblings. Theirs is a complicated relationship as well, because there\u2019s a lot of love there, but there\u2019s also a lot of competition, perhaps some jealousy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n\tWard enjoyed diving into this tricky brotherly bond. \u201cThey are both complicated characters, and they are both dealing with very different kinds of mental health issues, for which neither of them has a great understanding or a vocabulary,\u201d the actor explains. \u201cNor was that perhaps as widely understood and available societally as it is nowadays.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n\tHow does such societal change affect diving into a character? \u201cThat\u2019s a challenge \u2013 trying not to apply what we know now about those things to back then,\u201d Ward shares. \u201cThere\u2019s a level of ignorance, for want of a better word, and there\u2019s an unknowing that you have to try and channel. They are good people doing the best they can, but under unfavorable circumstances.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"post-content-image \/\/  \">\n<figure class=\"o-figure   size-large alignnone lrv-u-max-width-100p\" style=\"width:1200px\">\n<div class=\"c-lazy-image  \">\n<div class=\"lrv-a-crop-16x9\" style=\"padding-bottom:calc((674\/1200)*100%);\">\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"c-lazy-image__img lrv-u-background-color-grey-lightest lrv-u-width-100p lrv-u-display-block lrv-u-height-auto\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/wp-content\/themes\/vip\/pmc-hollywoodreporter-2021\/assets\/public\/lazyload-fallback.gif\" data-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Barry-Ward-KVIFF-1-1.jpg?w=1200\" alt=\"\" data-lazy-srcset=\"\" data-lazy-sizes=\"\" height=\"674\" width=\"1200\" decoding=\"async\"\/><\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div><figcaption class=\"c-figcaption  lrv-u-padding-tb-025\">\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"a-font-secondary-s lrv-u-margin-r-025\">Barry Ward at Karlovy Vary 2026<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<cite class=\"a-font-accent-uppercase-xs lrv-u-color-grey-dark\">Courtesy of Film Servis Festival Karlovy Vary<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n\tWas there any video or other material that he could study to prepare for the role? \u201cAfter Harry\u2019s death, his wife wrote a kind of biographical [text] about Bill and his brother, or a kind of pamphlet \u2013 like a chapter in a book about their relationship, and a lot about their childhood and how close and closely bonded they were. With both being great jazz pianists, Harry was the better player, the movie suggests, up until a point when Bill took over. They were also both keen golfers and really good, almost semi-pro.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n\tPlus, there was a YouTube clip. \u201cIt was about a half hour of an episode of American television,l in beautiful black and white,\u201d Wad tells <em>THR<\/em>. \u201cThere is a presenter, but he hands over the floor to Harry Jr. and Bill Evans, and there\u2019s this half-hour dialogue between the two of them. Harry went into academia and was a music teacher, so he assumes that role in a way in this TV show. Bill plays and improvises, and Harry talks about it. So it\u2019s this dialogue between these two musical geniuses, and it gave me a wholly new appreciation for jazz.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n\tThe lack of much video footage meant that Ward took a different approach from the film\u2019s lead. \u201cBill Evans is much more iconic and well known. So I think Anders had no other choice but to really try and do a good imitation,\u201d he explains. \u201cFor me, it was much looser, and we made choices early on that totally contradicted that footage I saw. The written literature around that footage actually said he really wasn\u2019t himself in that interview, because the cameras were on. So, we created our own character in a way. We were less biographical and beholden to those details. But there were certain elements that I tried to bring in.\u201d All in all, \u201cit was like a get-out-of-jail-free card,\u201d Ward concludes. \u201cIt had the best of both worlds.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n\tWard has been shooting <em>The Flying Mountain<\/em> from director Nicolas Steiner, written by Steiner and Christoph Ransmayr, which also stars Moe Dunford. It tells the story of two Irish brothers who seek life\u2019s meaning and travel to Tibet\u2019s peaks.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n\t\u201cIt\u2019s based on a novel about two Irish brothers who go from the West Coast of Ireland to the Himalayas of Tibet in search of a white spot, which is basically the last place on Earth that has yet to be mapped by Google Maps,\u201d Ward explains. \u201cSo the two of us embark on this adventure. It\u2019s an interesting concept with brilliant creatives across the board and a stunningly beautiful picture.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"post-content-image \/\/  \">\n<figure class=\"o-figure   size-large alignnone lrv-u-max-width-100p\" style=\"width:1231px\">\n<div class=\"c-lazy-image  \">\n<div class=\"lrv-a-crop-16x9\" style=\"padding-bottom:calc((693\/1231)*100%);\">\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"c-lazy-image__img lrv-u-background-color-grey-lightest lrv-u-width-100p lrv-u-display-block lrv-u-height-auto\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/wp-content\/themes\/vip\/pmc-hollywoodreporter-2021\/assets\/public\/lazyload-fallback.gif\" data-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/The-Flying-Mountain-Swissfilm.jpg?w=1231\" alt=\"\" data-lazy-srcset=\"\" data-lazy-sizes=\"\" height=\"693\" width=\"1231\" decoding=\"async\"\/><\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div><figcaption class=\"c-figcaption  lrv-u-padding-tb-025\">\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"a-font-secondary-s lrv-u-margin-r-025\">\u2018The Flying Mountain\u2019 <\/span><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<cite class=\"a-font-accent-uppercase-xs lrv-u-color-grey-dark\">Courtesy of Swiss Films<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n\tThere was also an Irish crew since some parts of the movie were shot in Ireland. \u201cWe just got back from eight weeks filming in Nepal,\u201d Ward tells <em>THR<\/em> about the state of the production. \u201cAnd we finish it in October in Switzerland up on the mountains. We\u2019ve still got crazy endurance climbing work.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n\tIn addition to his film work, Ward has also continued with series roles. \u201cI have a Netflix TV show called <em>Grown Ups<\/em> coming up, which is being edited at the moment,\u201d the actor tells <em>THR<\/em>. \u201cIt is an Irish [family drama] story based on a novel by Marian Keyes, who is an Irish author who has sold millions of books worldwide. And it\u2019s adapted by the amazing Samantha Strauss (<em>Apple Cider Vinegar<\/em>), an Australian writer and showrunner.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n\tWhat\u2019s Ward\u2019s role in the family drama that filmed in and around Dublin? \u201cI\u2019m one of the brothers of the family in this dysfunctional family,\u201d he says. \u201cThey struggle, so there is a lot of drama. And it is about family dynamics with an amazing cast. Robert Sheehan (<em>The Umbrella Academy<\/em>, <em>Misfits<\/em>), Aisling Bea <em>(This Way Up, Get Away<\/em>) and I are brothers and sisters, and Sarah Greene (<em>Bad Sisters, Normal People<\/em>) is the lead character who\u2019s basically outside of this family, looking in.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n\tBefore Ward must go to his next appointment, we have to briefly discuss Ireland\u2019s screen success and production boom. \u201cWe are enjoying a golden age of film and TV,\u201d he acknowledges. \u201cAnd we have never had as many international breakout stars as we do now, both in front of and behind the camera. And all these people are paving the way for others.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/  a-font-body-m     \">\n\tThe production infrastructure has expanded and improved over time. \u201cWhen I made my first movie in Ireland, it was with Cillian Murphy, there was one studio, and it was lying empty for 10 months of the year,\u201d Ward recalls. \u201cNow there are four, I think, and there are about three in development. So there\u2019s a huge industry now where once, not so long ago, there was none. So it\u2019s been a huge phenomenon.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Irish star Barry Ward (Bad Sisters, The End of the F***ing World) has a busy work schedule, but he visited the\u00a060th edition\u00a0of the\u00a0Karlovy Vary International Film Festival\u00a0(KVIFF)\u00a0last week to introduce one of his latest films. Ward has actually attended the Czech festival several years in a row now. \u201cI was invited in 2023 to be&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7668,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Barry-Ward-KVIFF-2-1.jpg?w=1200&h=674&crop=1","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7667","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pics-news"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7667","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7667"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7667\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7668"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7667"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7667"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7667"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}