'A Christmas Story' star Zack Ward said his role as Scut Farkus caused strangers to pick fights with him

• Zack Ward revealed that his role as Scut in "A Christmas Story" led to tense interactions with fans.
• According to Ward, some people who recognized him in public would try to start fights.

"A Christmas Story" star Zack Ward revealed that his role in the 1983 holiday film caused some people to react negatively towards him in public years later, with some viewers even trying to start fights with him.

"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," Ward, who played neighborhood bully Scut Farkus in the movie, told Insider in a recent interview.

"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?'"

According to Ward, some individuals would even try to take the situation to the next level.

"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," the actor explained. Even after he told them he was an actor, Ward said, these people wouldn't be able to shake the feeling that Ward had done something bad to them.

Luckily for the actor, those types of interactions with individuals were few and far between. In recent years, most people have accurately recognized him as the actor who played Scut.

"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,'" Ward told Insider with a laugh.

Ward recently reprised his role as Scut in "A Christmas Story Christmas," the sequel to "A Christmas Story" that was released in November. The film follows a now-adult Ralphie (Peter Billingsley, reprising his role from the original) as he travels home to Indiana with his family after the death of his father, "The Old Man."

"A Christmas Story Christmas" is now available to stream on HBO Max.