Barry Ward Dives Deep into Jazz Legend's Troubled Family

Irish actor Barry Ward recently attended the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival to present "Everybody Digs Bill Evans," a film where he portrays Harry Evans, the elder brother of jazz icon Bill Evans.

Ward described his character, Harry, as deeply torn between his love for his brother and his duty to his own family, ultimately making the difficult decision to send his brother away for help. This portrayal involved navigating the complex relationship between the siblings, who both dealt with mental health challenges without a societal vocabulary or understanding.

To prepare for the role, Ward studied biographical writings about the Evans brothers and a rare black-and-white television dialogue between Harry and Bill. While co-star Anders Danielsen Lie, who plays Bill Evans, focused on imitation, Ward adopted a looser, less biographical approach, creating a character informed by but not strictly bound to historical footage. He noted that the available literature suggested Harry was not entirely himself during that specific television interview.

Ward also shared updates on his other projects, including the upcoming Netflix series "Grown Ups," an adaptation of Marian Keyes' novel, and "The Flying Mountain," filmed in Nepal and Switzerland. He highlighted Ireland's current "golden age" of film and TV production, noting the significant expansion of the industry from a single studio to multiple facilities over the past two decades.