Ron Howard says acting has given him a 'broader understanding of the world'
Ron Howard has explained how his acting background has influenced his thinking.
Ron Howard thinks acting has given him a "broader understanding of the world".
The 72-year-old star first found fame as an actor, starring in TV shows like The Andy Griffith Show and Happy Days - but Ron is now best known as a director, having helmed movies such as Apollo 13, Cinderella Man, Rush, In the Heart of the Sea, and Thirteen Lives.
Speaking to People, Ron reflected: "I’ve always been curious because I grew up on television, I’ve always been around movie sets, and even if you’re playing Little Opie on The Andy Griffith Show, there are certain scenes where you have to figure out ‘Why would a kid do this?’
"You develop a kind of broader understanding of the world, and as I ventured out and played a wider variety of roles, that demand was made over and over again. That’s what actors have to do. I carried that over into directing, but I also developed it about the world in general."
Ron explained that his curiosity extends beyond his work in Hollywood, too.
He shared: "If I’m out with people at dinner and I don’t know them, I wanna get to the bottom of what makes them tick.
"At one time in my life in high school, I was co-editor of the paper, loved it. And I thought, you know, if I don’t transition into an adult career, I think I’ll either be a basketball coach and history teacher or maybe a journalist, because my curiosity pushed me in that direction."
Meanwhile, Bryce Dallas Howard, Ron's daughter, previously claimed that female filmmakers deserve more opportunities in Hollywood.
The actress thinks movie studios should show more faith in female filmmakers.
Bryce - who studied acting at the New York University Tisch School of the Arts - told Variety: "It’s really difficult to get paid to do the thing that you want to do in this business. And the amount of time between jobs is so significant that, unless you come from privilege or you have another job that somehow allows you to be flexible, you’re not getting a shot. You’re not even getting a chance, and that has to change."
Bryce acknowledges that she could do even more to support aspiring female filmmakers.
The actress - who plays Claire Dearing in the Jurassic World trilogy - said: "There are so many brilliant artists and so little support, and it is incumbent upon people like me to make that a reality. And I constantly fall short. And I will not quit."
