I developed a theory that, in many ways, the early ‘Andy Griffith’ episodes especially were an awful lot like a Capra movie. They were a lot like ‘Mr. Deeds’ or a lot like ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ in tone and presentation. – Ron Howard
I just don’t think of myself as an actor much at all, so I don’t lust after any particular roles. – Ron Howard
Once or twice in the height of ‘Happy Days’ excitement, which had more to do with Henry Winkler as The Fonz than ever had to do with me, we were kind of like a boy band for a year or so, and we would go out on personal appearances and feel the limousine rocking, and the grabbing at your clothes and people trying to steal your cap. – Ron Howard
If I had to choose between a great acting job and a good directing job, I’d choose the directing job. – Ron Howard
I went with a friend to see Frank Sinatra in Las Vegas, in the last year that he was performing. He wasn’t necessarily on top form, but the way he could connect with an audience and the way he communicated through the lyrics was something I hadn’t ever really seen before. – Ron Howard
If you’re not out there taking some risks, if you’re just coasting along with your wins, then you’re not really trying. – Ron Howard
I don’t vacation on the water. I’m a pale-skinned redhead; I get sunburned out there. I’m a little frightened of the ocean, in fact. But I just know there’s great drama out there. – Ron Howard
I love all kinds of stories and movies, and I did work hard to get through to the creative community and studio executives that I could work in a number of different genres and tones. – Ron Howard
The regrets I have are strong enough that I wouldn’t share ’em. I think that you can’t live without suffering some. – Ron Howard
I don’t choose something unless I think I have a personal understanding and something I can offer. It’s not always thematic. I wanted to do ‘The Grinch’ because I wanted to direct Jim Carrey creating that kind of comic fantasy character live. I just thought that would be a mind-blowing experience, and it creatively was. – Ron Howard
I was a terrible science student, so I could never be a scientist; my mind doesn’t work that way. But I’ve learned to love the stories around science, and I have so much respect and fascination for the people who can make discoveries and find applications. There’s a lot of drama there. – Ron Howard
My folks met at the University of Oklahoma, in the theater department in the 1940s. They were married touring the country in ‘Cinderella’ and ‘Snow White.’ My mother was married in Cinderella’s costume; the dwarves were the best men. – Ron Howard
There’s something rare and wonderful that’s very particular to television, and it’s when a great cast meets a great show runner/creator with the right set of characters to play. That’s what happened with ‘Arrested Development.’ It happens every so often, but all too rarely on TV. – Ron Howard
Early on in my career, when I had basically been a sitcom actor for all of these years, and I made my first movies, and they were comedies, and they were successes, it was very important for me to stretch, and ‘Parenthood’ was one of those films. Even though it was a comedy, there was a great deal of authentic drama in the piece as well. – Ron Howard
Nina Gold is a fantastic casting director. She’s doing the new ‘Star Wars’ movies, but she also does ‘Game of Thrones’ and many of the Working Title movies, and she did ‘Rush.’ – Ron Howard
We assume that healthy habits are a good idea, but in and of themselves, they are not the reason we’re going to be active at age 95 or 100. The body works in more complex ways. – Ron Howard
I want every movie to have a big audience. I’m always hopeful that it’s going to be discovered, and audiences are fantastic that way because every once in a while they surprise you. I didn’t think ‘Beautiful Mind’ was going to be that kind of global success. – Ron Howard
Television, particularly as it becomes more and more serialised, comedies no longer have to tie the stories up neatly within 20-plus minutes. ‘Arrested Development’ had evolving storylines, as did both versions of ‘The Office.’ We’re seeing that more and more. That allows it to be really, whatever the tone, almost literary. – Ron Howard
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. – Ron Howard
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. – Ron Howard
I’d rather risk confusion and stay creatively fresh and stimulated. I feel like I’m growing and challenging myself all the time. – Ron Howard
I think child stars have a leg up, actually, because they have an innate sense of what creative problem solving is all about. But to make a life out of it, you have to be ready to take on project after project. You have to like the action. – Ron Howard
I’m interested in all forms of content, including Internet and gaming. On the TV side, cable has sparked a renaissance of the medium and that will continue for storytellers. – Ron Howard
As a director, I’ve wanted to have adventure in my life, creative adventure. I think it’s partly because I grew up, basically from age six to 26, mostly on television series where the producers find something that works and then do it over and over and over again. – Ron Howard
I’m not really a sequel guy. I did ‘Angels & Demons’ after ‘The Da Vinci Code,’ because I like working with Hanks, and I felt it was a really different sort of world that we were visiting. That was, of itself, interesting. – Ron Howard
I’ve always been interested in the Depression as this very dramatic pivotal period in American history. – Ron Howard
I used to feel that I had to be dictatorial in order to be respected, but after I did a couple of TV movies, I began to see that authority came with the job. So I began to relax and let more people into the process, and my work really improved. – Ron Howard
