Ron Howard

Birthday: 1 March 1954, Duncan, Oklahoma, USA

Birth Name: Ronald William Howard

Height: 175 cm

Academy Award-winning filmmaker Ron Howard is one of this generation's most popular directors. From the critically acclaimed dramas A Beautiful Mind and Apollo 13 to the hit comedies Parenthood and Splash, he has created some of Hollywood's most memorable films.Howard directed and produced "Cinderella Man" starring Oscar winner Russell Crowe, with whom he previously collaborated on "A Beautiful Mind", for which Howard earned an Oscar for Best Director and which also won awards for Best Picture, Best Screenplay and Best Supporting Actress. The film garnered four Golden Globes as well, including the award for Best Motion Picture Drama. Additionally, Howard won Best Director of the Year from the Directors Guild of America. Howard and producer Brian Grazer received the first annual Awareness Award from the National Mental Health Awareness Campaign for their work on the film.Howard's skill as a director has long been recognized. In 1995, he received his first Best Director of the Year award from the DGA for "Apollo 13". The true-life drama also garnered nine Academy Award nominations, winning Oscars for Best Film Editing and Best Sound. It also received Best Ensemble Cast and Best Supporting Actor awards from the Screen Actor's Guild. Many of Howard's past films have received nods from the Academy, including the popular hits "Backdraft", "Parenthood" and "Cocoon", the last of which took home two Oscars. Howard was honored by the Museum of Moving Images in December 2005, and by the American Cinema Editors in February 2006. Howard and his creative partner Brian Grazer, were honored by the Producers Guild of America with the Milestone Award in January 2009, NYU's Tisch School of Cinematic Arts with the Big Apple Award in November 2009 and by the Simon Wiesenthal Center with their Humanitarian Award in May 2010. In June 2010, Howard was honored by the Chicago Film Festival with their Gold Hugo - Career Achievement Award. In March 2013, Howard was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame. In December 2015, Howard was honored with a star in the Motion Pictures category, making him one of the very few to have been recognized with two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.Recently, Howard directed "Inferno", the third installment of Dan Brown's Robert Langdon franchise and "8 Days A Week-The Touring Years", a documentary about the rock legends The Beatles. He is also producing second season of "Breakthrough", "Mars", and is directing the first episode of The Genius Series based on the life of Einstein, all for NatGeo.Howard's recent films include the critically acclaimed drama "Rush", staring Chris Hemsworth and Daniel Brüel, written by Peter Morgan; and "Made In America", a music documentary he directed staring Jay Z for Showtime.Howard also produced and directed the film adaptation of Peter Morgan's critically acclaimed play "Frost / Nixon". The film, which was released in December 2009, was nominated for five Academy Awards including Best Picture, and was also nominated for The Darryl F. Zanuck Producer of the Year Award in Theatrical Motion Pictures by the PGA.Howard's portfolio includes some of the most popular films of the past 20 years. In 1991, Howard created the acclaimed drama "Backdraft", starring Robert De Niro, Kurt Russell and William Baldwin. He followed it with the historical epic "Far and Away", starring Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman. Howard directed Mel Gibson, Rene Russo, Gary Sinise and Delroy Lindo in the 1996 suspense thriller "Ransom". Howard worked with Tom Hanks, Kevin Bacon, Ed Harris, Bill Paxton, Gary Sinise and Kathleen Quinlan on "Apollo 13", which was re-released recently in the IMAX format.Howard's other films include "In The Heart of the Sea", based on the true story that inspired Moby Dick; his adaptation of Dan Brown's best-selling novels "Angels & Demons", and "The Da Vinci Code" staring Oscar winner Tom Hanks; the blockbuster holiday favorite "Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas" starring Jim Carrey; "Parenthood" starring Steve Martin; the fantasy epic "Willow"; "Night Shift" starring Henry Winkler, Michael Keaton and Shelley Long; and the suspenseful western, "The Missing", staring Oscar winners Cate Blachett and Tommy Lee Jones.Howard has also served as an executive producer on a number of award-winning films and television shows, such as the HBO miniseries "From the Earth to the Moon", Fox's Emmy Award winner for Best Comedy, "Arrested Development", a series which he also narrated, Netflix's release of new episodes of "Arrested Development", and NBC's "Parenthood".Howard made his directorial debut in 1978 with the comedy "Grand Theft Auto". He began his career in film as an actor. He first appeared in "The Journey" and "The Music Man", then as Opie on the long-running television series "The Andy Griffith Show". Howard later starred in the popular series "Happy Days" and drew favorable reviews for his performances in "American Graffiti" and "The Shootist".Howard and long-time producing partner Brian Grazer first collaborated on the hit comedies "Night Shift" and "Splash". The pair co-founded Imagine Entertainment in 1986 to create independently produced feature films. Show less «

[on the death of Don Knotts]: Outside of his loving family, I'm sure that Andy Griffith was Don Knot...Show more »

[on the death of Don Knotts]: Outside of his loving family, I'm sure that Andy Griffith was Don Knotts' greatest fan. When I summon up memories of working with Don on The Andy Griffith Show (1960), the first images are of Andy laughing and reveling in Don's genius. Don had been funny before the show and sustained his comedy superstardom later in movies and on television. But I will always remember the transformation that would begin as mild-mannered Don rehearsed his scene, tweaked the dialogue, refined the timing - and then took off and soared as cameras rolled. The only question: Could Andy keep from falling out of his chair laughing in the middle of the take? Nine times out of 10, Andy, the consummate pro, held on until the director yelled "Cut!" and he and the rest of us could finally release the pressure valve and let the laughter out. On the rare times when Andy would blow the take, he was always forgiven - even by Don, who knew deep down there was plenty more comedy where that came from. Show less «

[on the current state of cinema, 2014]: I really think the creative process is more exciting than ev...Show more »

[on the current state of cinema, 2014]: I really think the creative process is more exciting than ever. There are more and more people doing great work. Show less «

I've always been interested in the Depression as this very dramatic pivotal period in American histo...Show more »

I've always been interested in the Depression as this very dramatic pivotal period in American history. My dad grew up on a farm in Oklahoma and remembers playing with his toy tractor under the table while the local farmers talked with his grandfather about forming a local militia to protect the crops because they were afraid unemployed people from the town would come in and grab the crops. Show less «

[asked what his future holds in 1979]: If I had to choose between a great acting job and a good dire...Show more »

[asked what his future holds in 1979]: If I had to choose between a great acting job and a good directing job, I'd choose the directing job. Show less «

There is something inherently tough about Americans. They will not accept defeat. The astronauts of ...Show more »

There is something inherently tough about Americans. They will not accept defeat. The astronauts of Apollo 13 (1995) would not give up, John Nash in A Beautiful Mind (2001) would not give up, and Jimmy Braddock [subject of Cinderella Man (2005)] would not surrender to poverty. Show less «

[on working with Bette Davis]: She didn't much like that there was this 25-year-old from a sitcom th...Show more »

[on working with Bette Davis]: She didn't much like that there was this 25-year-old from a sitcom that was directing her. I was talking to her on the phone and I said, "Well, Ms. Davis, I'll protect you as the director and make sure you're prepared and that your performance will not suffer", and she said, "I disagree, Mr. Howard." I said, "Ms. Davis, just call me Ron", and she said, "No, I will call you Mr. Howard until I decide whether I like you or not." And then [on the set] I gave her a note. And she tried it, and it worked for her. She said, "You're right, that works much better. Let's shoot." And at the end of the whole thing, I said, "We'll, Ms. Davis, great first day. I'll see you tomorrow." She said, "Okay, Ron, see you tomorrow" and she patted me on the ass. Show less «

[on his longtime friendship with Andy Griffith, who played Sheriff Andy Taylor]: I wondered about An...Show more »

[on his longtime friendship with Andy Griffith, who played Sheriff Andy Taylor]: I wondered about Andy, I knew he was a Southern Democrat, old school, Southern Democrat. I really hadn't talked to him about politics in ages, and I barely got the sentence out; and he said, "I'm a Democrat. I believe in [President Barack Obama]. We need a Democrat in the White House. I want Obama, and I'll do it." I talk to him every so often. Show less «

[asked about the transition from child star to adolescent actor]: You're 14 or 15, and they can hire...Show more »

[asked about the transition from child star to adolescent actor]: You're 14 or 15, and they can hire an 18-year-old and not have the child-labor law restrictions, and so they do. Just at the point when you're feeling confused and vulnerable, you're being rejected. Show less «

[on being receptive to new ideas in filmmaking]: Why fight technology at all? The audience is always...Show more »

[on being receptive to new ideas in filmmaking]: Why fight technology at all? The audience is always going to tell you what they like best. And you, as a storyteller, as a communicator, are going to be required to adjust to that. Your taste, your aesthetic, is certainly going to influence that, and you may choose to diffuse it - maybe decline using that format. At the end of the day, if I think the story has value and that it's interesting, then my next job is trying to understand how to best tell the story. Show less «

[on real-life characters in Rush (2013)]: I wanted to show the slightly tragic side of these two guy...Show more »

[on real-life characters in Rush (2013)]: I wanted to show the slightly tragic side of these two guys. They were so desperate to fill whatever void that was, and to prove something to who knows who, starting with themselves, that they were willing to risk their lives. Show less «

[on the death of Bea Arthur]: What she did in television and the characters that she created broke n...Show more »

[on the death of Bea Arthur]: What she did in television and the characters that she created broke new ground, and she was a great artist. Show less «

[on A Beautiful Mind (2001)]: It was always our goal to try to present schizophrenia in a very perso...Show more »

[on A Beautiful Mind (2001)]: It was always our goal to try to present schizophrenia in a very personal way. So the delusional characters are symbols, you know, manifestations. It's all a bit more allegorical, it's not pure case study, it's not a clinical presentation. Show less «

[on Andy Griffith]: In "Funny or Die", the website where it helped produced that piece and put it on...Show more »

[on Andy Griffith]: In "Funny or Die", the website where it helped produced that piece and put it on their website, and the meeting was getting a lot of action, and getting a lot of hits and also comments, and most were good and found it funny, and even if they didn't agree with the message, they appreciate it. Some were angry and irate, and I called Andy, and I said "I don't know if you're on the Internet, or if you follow this thing. It's getting a lot of attention." Andy said, "Yeah, I had a couple of reporters called, and kinds picked up on that." I said, "It's mostly good, but you know, some people are pretty angry about this -- some people are pretty upset. And there was a pause... and he said, "Well, Ronnie, once in a while, you gotta muffle a few feathers." He's still giving Opie, a little advice. Show less «

[on Rush (2013)]: I guess you could say it's a bit of a stretch. But at this point, I don't know wha...Show more »

[on Rush (2013)]: I guess you could say it's a bit of a stretch. But at this point, I don't know what does sound like a Ron Howard film. I'm just looking for interesting filmmaking challenges and stories that have a chance to surprise the audience. When I started, I didn't know much about Formula One, but I knew that it was cool, sexy and dangerous, and that's a pretty good combination. Show less «

[on the death of James Garner]: Garner was a hell of a driver. He truly was a "man's man".

[on preparing his actors to look comfortable as Formula One drivers]: That was something they were g...Show more »

[on preparing his actors to look comfortable as Formula One drivers]: That was something they were going to have to be good at, because you have to have enough command of the car to come driving in fast, hot, with people there and pull in to a precise spot. And I wanted to be able to move the camera in and have them flip the visor up and see they were driving. It was the one place you could confirm to people that they were. Show less «

I'm not a caterer. I just have to stay with my creative convictions. At some point, you have to just...Show more »

I'm not a caterer. I just have to stay with my creative convictions. At some point, you have to just get past the special-interest groups and do what you're there to do, which is make a movie. Show less «

It was always my dream to be a director. A lot of it had to do with controlling my own destiny, beca...Show more »

It was always my dream to be a director. A lot of it had to do with controlling my own destiny, because as a young actor you feel at everyone's disposal. But I wanted to become a leader in the business. Show less «

I've acted with all types, I've directed all types. What you want to understand as a director, is wh...Show more »

I've acted with all types, I've directed all types. What you want to understand as a director, is what actors have to offer. They'll get at it however they get at it. If you can understand that, you can get your work done. Show less «

Ron Howard

Ron Howard's FILMOGRAPHY

Ron Howard'S roles

Feedback about this page?