Simon Ward was born in Beckenham, the son of Winifred and Leonard Fox Ward, a car dealer. From an early age he wanted to be an actor. He was educated at Alleyn's School, London, the home of the National Youth Theatre, which he joined at age 13 and stayed with for eight years. Trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, he made his professional stage debut with the Northampton Repertory in 1963 and his London theatrical debut one year later in The 4th of June. After the Royal Academy, he worked in repertory in Northampton, Birmingham and Oxford and occasionally in London's West End.