Ron Howard feared being “typecast” as a director.
Ron Howard has explained his passion for directing
The 71-year-old star first found fame as a child actor, and he enjoyed huge success in TV shows such as Happy Days and The Andy Griffith Show – but Ron was keen to avoid being typecast when he made the move into directing.
Speaking to Variety, he explained: “I intentionally wanted to prove myself to the creative community, to the studios and ultimately audiences that I could make all kinds of films.
“As an actor, I’d been very much typecast. My first directing successes were comedies, which made sense because I came out of acting in comedies, and I had command over those rhythms.
“Once I recognised that I was going to have a directing career, I inched my way in other directions. Cocoon was kind of a comedy-drama — it had some serious moments. And Parenthood was bittersweet in places. It was Backdraft where I made my first full-on adventure movie. And then Apollo 13 was a massive breakthrough for me, not only because it was a drama, but also because it was the first time that I took on a true story.
“Up to that point, I’d been terrified it would squelch my creativity, when, in fact, I found that it ignited it.”
Ron acknowledges that streaming platforms have changed the film industry. However, the director believes there are pros and cons to the new way of distributing movies.
He reflected: “It’s paradoxical. There used to be more absolute roadblocks, like you’re not going to get a movie made in Hollywood in 1983 if you couldn’t get a studio interested. That’s not the case now.
“If you have the drive and the passion to tell a story, you can find a way to get it produced. That’s liberating. It can still be hard to get a company to invest in or distribute it, but the barriers aren’t there in the same way, and you can get it out there in some capacity.”
Ron previously admitted that he’s always felt happier as a director than as an actor.
The acclaimed filmmaker told CBS News: “I just loved directing. I loved it. And the first one I directed, I had to be in [to help finance it]. I didn’t enjoy that. I didn’t feel I was quite a strong enough actor. I felt in a lot of ways [directing] was a more complete reflection of who I am, what I like to do.”