Ron Howard Says He Would ‘Probably’ Return to Acting If His Daughter Bryce Dallas Howard Cast Him

Before he won an Oscar for “A Beautiful Mind” and directed classic films like “Apollo 13” and “Cocoon,” Ron Howard was one of America’s most popular screen actors. Beginning his career as a child star on “The Andy Griffith Show,” he went on to become a household name in the 1970s for his roles in “Happy Days” and “American Graffiti.”

But in the years since he has primarily spent his time working behind the camera (save for his memorable stint as the narrator on “Arrested Development”). And in a new interview with Variety, Howard revealed that he would only return to acting if his daughter Bryce Dallas Howard was directing him.

“It would probably be Bryce,” Howard said. “It would probably be Bryce directing something and saying, ‘Dad, I really need you to come in and do this,’ or ‘You have to.’ Either of those would probably get me in the makeup chair and in front of the camera.”

That said, Howard isn’t getting his hopes up about his daughter casting him any time soon. After seeing her demonstrate her directing prowess on shows like “The Mandalorian” and “The Book of Boba Fett,” Howard knows that she isn’t the kind of filmmaker to cast based on nepotism.

“She’s very astute and meticulous,” he said. “So unless I’m right for something, absolutely right, it ain’t happening.”

Howard doesn’t appear t0o worried about it, though, as he has a thriving directing career to keep himself busy. He recently appeared at IndieWire’s Consider This FYC Brunch to discuss the meticulous planning that went into recreating the 2018 Tham Luang cave rescue in his latest film “Thirteen Lives.”

“My whole interest in this was understanding, on a personal, granular level, what it was like to be there,” Howard said. “It was to use a lot of these POV shots and keep connecting you. So different scenes would be connected to different characters, and it would be a different kind of test and a challenge. And of course the cave was shifting, and the water needed to be a character. Both visually and from a sound design standpoint, it was important to keep varying that.”