Mateus Ward was born in Burbank, California, but was raised on the island of Maui in Hawaii. He is the son of an American father, producer/director/filmmaker Justin Ward, and an Italian immigrant mother, Laura Di Nardo (Laura Ward). His first role was in a live musical theater production where he impersonated Elvis, and then was offered the role of Winfield Joad in the stage production of "The Grapes of Wrath" at the Maui Academy of Performing Arts. In 2009, his family moved back to Los Angeles,