Ron Howard is an American director, producer, screenwriter, and actor.

He started his career portraying Opie, the son of Andy Taylor (played by Andy Griffith) in the sitcom The Andy Griffith Show from 1960 through 1968 and Richie Cunningham in the sitcom Happy Days, a role he would play from 1974 to 1980. During this time, he also acted in films such as The Music Man (1962), American Graffiti (1973), and The Shootist (1976). Howard retired from acting in 1980.

He then shifted into directing comedies such as Night Shift (1982), Splash (1984), and Cocoon (1985) as well as the fantasy Willow (1988), the dramedy Parenthood (1989), the thriller Backdraft (1991), and the newspaper film The Paper (1994). He then transitioned into directing critically acclaimed dramas such as Apollo 13 (1995), A Beautiful Mind (2001), Cinderella Man (2005), Frost/Nixon (2008), Rush (2013), and In the Heart of the Sea (2015). Howard also directed the children's film How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000) as well as the Robert Langdon film series, The Da Vinci Code (2006), Angels & Demons (2009), Inferno (2016), and Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018). He has also directed the documentary films The Beatles: Eight Days a Week (2016) and Pavarotti (2019).

Film

Feature film Year Title Director Producer Writer Ref. 1977 Grand Theft Auto 1982 Night Shift 1984 Splash 1985 Cocoon 1986 Gung Ho 1988 Willow 1989 Parenthood 1991 Backdraft 1992 Far and Away 1994 The Paper 1995 Apollo 13 1996 Ransom 1999 EDtv 2000 How the Grinch Stole Christmas 2001 A Beautiful Mind 2003 The Missing 2005 Cinderella Man 2006 The Da Vinci Code 2008 Frost/Nixon 2009 Angels & Demons 2011 The Dilemma 2013 Rush 2015 In the Heart of the Sea 2016 Inferno 2018 Solo: A Star Wars Story 2020 Hillbilly Elegy 2022 Thirteen Lives 2024 Eden 2027 Alone at Dawn

Short film Year Title Director Producer Actor Role Notes 1969 Old PaintCredited as Ronny Howard Deed of Daring-Do Cards, Cads, Guns, Gore and Death2011 The Death and Return of Superman Max's Son When You Find Me

Producer only Clean and Sober (1988) The Chamber (1996) Inventing the Abbotts (1997) The Alamo (2004) Curious George (2006) Changeling (2008) Restless (2011) Cowboys & Aliens (2011) The Good Lie (2014) The Dark Tower (2017) Tick, Tick... Boom! (2021) The Beanie Bubble (2023) Spaceballs: The New One (2027)

Executive producer only Leo and Loree (1980) No Man's Land (1987) Vibes (1988) The 'Burbs (1989) The Doors (1991) (Uncredited) Closet Land (1991) Curious George 2: Follow That Monkey! (2010) Curious George 3: Back to the Jungle (2015) Backdraft 2 (2019) Wedding Season (2022)

Acting roles Year Title Role Notes 1956 Frontier Woman Bit Part Uncredited 1959 The Journey Billy Rhinelander Credited as Ronny Howard 1961 Five Minutes to Live Bobby Credited as Ronnie Howard 1962 The Music Man Winthrop Paroo Credited as Ronny Howard 1963 The Courtship of Eddie's Father Eddie Credited as Ronny Howard 1965 Village of the Giants Genius 1969 Land of the Giants Jodar 1970 The Wild Country Virgil Tanner 1973 American Graffiti Steve Bolander Happy Mother's Day, Love George Johnny 1974 The Spikes Gang Les Richter 1976 The First Nudie Musical Auditioning actor Uncredited Eat My Dust! Hoover Niebold The Shootist Gillom Rogers 1977 Grand Theft Auto Sam Freeman 1979 More American Graffiti Steve Bolander 1982 Night Shift Annoying Sax PlayerBoy Making Out with Girlfriend Uncredited cameos 1998Welcome to Hollywood Himself 2000 The Independent Himself How the Grinch Stole Christmas Whoville Townsperson Uncredited 2001 Osmosis Jones Tom Colonic Voice role 2011 From Up on Poppy Hill Philosophy Club's president Voice role 2016 Donald Trump's The Art of the Deal: The Movie Himself 2022 Scream Principal Himbry (Stab) Uncredited – image appearance

Documentary film Year Title Director Producer Himself1992 The Magical World of Chuck Jones1998 One Vision1999 Beyond the Mat2004 Tell Them Who You Are2005 Inside Deep Throat 2007 In the Shadow of the Moon 2012 Katy Perry: Part of Me 2013 Made in America 2016 The Beatles: Eight Days a Week 2019 Pavarotti Dads 2020 Rebuilding Paradise Breakthrough: Virus Fighters 2021 Paper & Glue Julia 2022 Lucy and Desi We Feed People 2024 Jim Henson Idea ManDeadline Fifth Season Team On Feature Docu Slate, Ron Howard Helms Pic On Photog Richard Avedon, Lawrence Kasdan Directs One On Martin Short January 22, 2024Music by John Williams 2025 Barbara Walters: Tell Me Everything 2026 Avedon

Television Year Title Director Executiveproducer Writer Notes 1978 Cotton Candy TV movie 1980 Skyward 1981 Through the Magic Pyramid 1983 Little Shots 2017 Genius Pilot episode

Producer only Year Title Notes 1998From the Earth to the Moon Miniseries 1999 Student Affairs TV movie 2000 Wonderland 2015–present Breakthrough

Executive producer Year Title Notes 1981 Skyward Christmas TV movie 1983 When Your Lover Leaves 1984–1985 Maximum Security 1985 No Greater Gift TV special Into Thin Air TV movie 1986 The Lone-Star Kid 1987 Take Five 1988 Poison 1999 Mulholland Drive 1990–1991 Parenthood 1998–2000 Sports Night 1998–2002 Felicity 1999–2001 The PJs 2000 Silicon Follies TV movie 2001 The Beast 2003 The Snobs 2003–2006, 2013, 2018–2019 Arrested Development 2006–2022 Curious George 2010–2015 Parenthood 2012 The Great Escape 2014 Unsung Heroes TV documentary 2016–2018Mars 2020 68 Whiskey 2021 Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel Documentary series Crime Scene: The Times Square Killer 2022 Under the Banner of Heaven Light & Magic Documentary series Willow 2022–2025 The Tiny Chef Show2023 The Super Models Documentary series The Slumber PartyTV movie 2023–2024 Bossy Bear2024 The Truth About JimDocumentary series I Am Not a Monster: The Lois Riess Murders 2025 Pets

Acting roles Year Title Role Notes1959Johnny Ringo Ricky Parrot Episode: "The Accused"Five Fingers Episode: "Station Break"The Twilight Zone Wilcox Boy Episode: "Walking Distance"The DuPont Show with June Allyson Wim Wegless Episode: "Child Lost"Dennis the Menace Stewart 6 episodesThe Many Loves of Dobie Gillis Various roles 4 episodesGeneral Electric Theater Barnaby Baxter/Randy 2 episodes:Hennesey Walker Episode: "The Baby Sitter"1960The Danny Thomas Show Opie Taylor Episode: "Danny Meets Andy Griffith"Cheyenne Timmy Episode: "Counterfeit Gun,"uncreditedPete and Gladys Tommy Episode: "The Goat Story" 1960–1968The Andy Griffith Show Opie Taylor Series regular, 243 episodesCredited as Ronny Howard1962Route 66 Chet Duncan Episode: "Poor Little Kangaroo Rat"The New Breed Tommy Simms Episode: "So Dark the Night" 1963The Eleventh Hour Barry Stewart Episode: "Is Mr. Martian Coming Back?"1964The Great Adventure Daniel Waterhouse Episode: "Plague"Dr. Kildare Jerry Prentice Episode: "A Candle in the Window"The Fugitive Gus Episode: "Cry Uncle" 1965The Big Valley Tommy Episode: "Night of the Wolf"1966Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. Opie Taylor Episode: "Opie Joins the Marines"I Spy Alan Loden Episode: "Little Boy Lost"1967The Monroes Timothy Prescott Episode: "Teaching the Tiger to Purr"Gentle Ben Jody Cutler Episode: "Green-Eyed Bear"1968Mayberry R.F.D. Opie Taylor Episode: "Andy and Helen Get Married"The Archie Show Archie Andrews Early Pilot CartoonThe F.B.I. Jess Orkin Episode: "The Runaways"Lancer Turk Caudle/Willy 2 episodes 1969Judd for the Defense Phil Beeton Episode: "Between the Dark and the Daylight"Daniel Boone Luke Episode: "A Man Before His Time"Gunsmoke Jamie Episode: "Charlie Noon"Land of the Giants Jodar Episode: "Genius At Work" 1970Smoke Chris TV movieHeadmaster Tony Landis Season 1 - Episode 6Lassie Gary Episode: "Gary Here Comes Glory!" Part 1 & 2 1971–1972The Smith Family Bob Smith 1972Love, American StyleRichard "Richie" Cunningham Episode: "Love and the Happy Days"The Bold Ones: The New Doctors Cory Merlino Episode: "Discovery at Fourteen"Bonanza Ted Hoag Episode: "The Initiation" 1973M*A*S*H Private WalterWendell Peterson Episode: "Sometimes You Hear the Bullet" 1974The Waltons Seth Turner Episode: "The Gift" 1974–1984Happy Days Richard "Richie" Cunningham Main role (Seasons 1-7); Guest role (season 11) 1974Locusts Donny Fletcher TV movieThe Migrants Lyle Barlow 1975Huckleberry Finn Huckleberry Finn 1975–1981Insight Connie/Joe 2 episodes 1976Laverne & Shirley Richie Cunningham 2 episodesI'm a Fool Andy TV movie 1980The Fonz and the Happy Days Gang Richie Cunningham Voice role,Episode: "King for a Day"Act of Love Leon Cybulkowski TV movie 1981Bitter Harvest Ned De VriesFire on the Mountain Lee Mackie 1983When Your Lover Leaves TV movie,Uncredited 1986Return to Mayberry Opie Taylor TV movie 1988Channel 99 Himself 1998–1999The Simpsons Himself Voice role, 2 episodes 1999Frasier Stephen Voice role,Episode: "Good Samaritan" 2003–2006,2013, 2018–2019Arrested Development Narrator (voice only)Self (8 episodes) Series Regular, all seasons, uncredited; voice roleCredited as Guest Star, 8 episodes across Seasons 3-5 2016The Odd Couple Stanley Episode: "Taffy Days" 2017This Is Us Himself 3 episodes 2024Only Murders in the Building Himself Episode: "Escape From Planet Klongo" 2025The Studio Himself Episode: "The Note"

See also Ron Howard's unrealized projects

References

External links