"A Christmas Story" Star Reveals How Much He Makes In Royalties

A Christmas Story is arguably one of the best Christmas movies of all time. There's a reason TBS plays a 24-hour marathon of the film every year!

It's now been 24 years since its release, and the stars of A Christmas Story are definitely growing up. That includes Zack Ward, who played bully Scut Farkus.

The Canadian actor, now 47 years old, says people still recognize him from his glory days.

“So many people come up to me and are like, ‘You got your ass kicked by Ralphie,’ and it makes them so happy,” he said. “I think they’re connecting to themselves as that little kid who had a bully and when they saw Scut Farkus get beaten up, they were just like, ‘Yeah!’ They greet me with a lot of love. It’s usually very kind.”

Included in the recognition is a lot of hugs and free beer, the actor said.

“It’s incredible to be a part of something that is lightning in a bottle like that,” he told Page Six.

Ward's biggest role since A Christmas Story was a leading role in the short live show, Titus. He still acts on occasion, but currently he works with All Sports Market and Global Sports Financial Exchange, Inc., developing a sports exchange which would allow fans to buy and trade shares of their favorite sports teams.

But if Ward ever needs a little cash, he can always rely on his royalties from A Christmas Story. And trust us when we say a LITTLE cash.

In a recent interview, Ward revealed that he does still get royalty checks from his big role, but it's not as much as you think. He only earned $5,000 for the original role, so it's so surprise that his royalties are even less.

“You’re going to be so disappointed,” Ward said. “It’s basically about $1,800 every two years … and it comes in in Canadian money because we shot in Canada.”

That's about $1,400 USD every two years.

“It’s nothing,” said Ward. “I leave it in the bank in Canada in an account in case Mom falls and breaks a foot.”

But despite the low pay, Ward says the movie changed his life.

“I went to eight different schools before junior high. I was a new kid with red hair named Zack, which was not a thing back then," he confessed. "I had no dad, didn’t play hockey, was broke as hell, we were poor, and I had a miniature poodle named Tinker Bell,” Ward said of his childhood in Canada. "I got beat up a lot."

So for him to take on the role of a bully and become such an iconic character is somewhat like vindication for him.

“It’s fantastic, especially for someone who got bullied,” he said. “I saw that I was ranked — as Christmas villains go — higher than the Grinch. That’s amazing.”