John Ward was lured into show business at the age of 12 when his younger sister, Jennifer, was named the photo double and stand-in for Drew Barrymore in Stephen King's Firestarter (1984), which was shot in his native Wilmington, NC. This gave him the acting bug, leading to several small acting roles over the years. In 1998 he made his directorial debut with Enchanted (1998), a film he also wrote, produced and starred in. It went on to cult status on cable, airing to this day. From there, he continued to write and direct feature films, with 11 to date. In 2013, he wrote, produced and directed Heart of the Country (2013) based upon the 2012 novel of the same name Ward also authored. He served as President of Bay Ridge Films, Inc. He died from complications from a rare plasma cell disorder on February 16 in 2024, Newport Beach, California.