NickWard
- Writer
Nick Ward broke into screenwriting with lads-playing-pool comedy Stickmen. An instant Kiwi hit, the film won him a New Zealand Film Award for Best Screenplay in 2001. He went on to originate and co-write hit romance Second-Hand Wedding, based partly on his own family, then reconvened with Wedding director Paul Murphy for Rhys Darby romance Love Birds. In 2019 Ward created black comedy Fresh Eggs with Kim Harrop. The show was nominated for Best Comedy at the NZ Television Awards. Ward has also penned episodes of Wellington Paranormal, Outrageous Fortune and Burying Brian, plus horror flick The Ferryman.
Biography
After Nick Ward was made redundant from his job, he thought he'd "just live it up," but a good friend suggested he use the free time and redundancy money to write a movie like he had always talked about. That movie was Stickmen, released in 2001, selling to over 30 countries, and netting Ward the Best Screenplay award at the 2001 Nokia New Zealand Film Awards. "I never looked back," Ward asserts, and his continued prolific output stands as undeniable evidence of that.
Screenography
Awards
2022 New Zealand Television Awards
Nominated for Best Script - Comedy: for Wellington Paranormal - Series 4, Episode 5
2019 Huawei Mate30 Pro New Zealand Television Awards
Nominated for Best Comedy/Comedy Entertainment Programme (with Kim Harrop, Britta Hawkins and Philippa Rennie): for Fresh Eggs
“I fought my demons. I fought the words. I fought the scary animals to do what I wanted. I'm very happy for people to know that I'm dyslexic and that I have learning difficulties. I want people to know that writing was a path to the future for me, a path to happiness, a path to success and fulfilment. But it was a very hard path. And I'd like people to know that if you are dyslexic, if you have learning difficulties, if you struggle, it doesn't mean that you should turn your back on this world.”
