Ron Howard Reveals the One Person Who Could “Compel” Him to Return to Acting

While Ron Howard has focused on directing for most of his Hollywood career, there’s one person who could get him to return to acting.

The Oscar-winning filmmaker recently told People magazine that he would “love to do some acting” again but that “it’s hard to make time for.”

“I happen to play myself in an upcoming episode of The Studio, and I had a lot of fun doing that,” he noted.

However, Howard shared that his daughter, actress and director Bryce Dallas Howard, could likely get him to step back in front of the screen. “I think that if my daughter Bryce cast me in something, that would compel me to put down the directing obligation, put them on hold for a minute and show up,” he said.

He continued, “But otherwise, between what’s going on at my company Imagine Entertainment with Brian Grazer and our team, and what I’m personally trying directorially, I keep my calendar full in ways that are exciting and I want to succeed at. I want to focus.”

Earlier in his career, Howard was known for his roles on The Andy Griffith Show and Happy Days. After leaving the latter in 1984, his onscreen appearances have mostly consisted of cameos, playing himself and voice roles, such as narrating Arrested Development.

As for filmmaking, that’s where Howard’s true passion lies. He told People that his time behind the camera has been “such a fascinating way of life.”

“In the last decade, I’ve begun working on documentaries as well as scripted films, and I really love both,” he said. “I think both disciplines are kind of informing each other in interesting ways, and it’s stimulating some growth for me creatively, which is exciting at this point in my life. There are so many stories and ideas, a taste shift, a sensibility shift, and that puts different kinds of focus on storylines and styles of storytelling in cinema.”

Howard has helmed numerous films, including the Oscar-winning A Beautiful Mind, as well as Frost/Nixon, Apollo 13, Hillbilly Elegy, Rush and Jim Henson: Idea Man.