Ron Howard

Director · Born March 1, 1954 · Duncan, Oklahoma, USA

Highest rated as cast or director

Biography

Ronald William Howard (born March 1, 1954) is an American filmmaker and actor. He started his career as a child actor before transitioning to directing films. Over his six-decade career, he has received multiple accolades, including two Academy Awards, seven Emmy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, and two Grammy Awards, as well as nominations for seven British Academy Film Awards. He was also awarded the National Medal of Arts in 2003 and was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame in 2013. Howard has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his contributions in film and television. Howard first came to prominence as a child, acting in several television series before gaining national attention for playing young Opie Taylor, the son of Sheriff Andy Taylor (played by Andy Griffith) in the sitcom The Andy Griffith Show from 1960 through 1968. During this time, he also appeared in the musical film The Music Man (1962), a critical and commercial success. Howard was cast in one of the lead roles in the coming-of-age film American Graffiti (1973), and became a household name for playing Richie Cunningham in the sitcom Happy Days(1974–1980). He starred in the films The Spikes Gang (1974), The Shootist (1976), and Grand Theft Auto (1977), the latter being his directorial film debut. In 1980, Howard left Happy Days to focus on directing, producing, and sometimes writing a variety of films and television series. His films included the comedies Night Shift (1982), Splash (1984), and Cocoon (1985), as well as the fantasy Willow(1988), the thriller Backdraft (1991), and the newspaper comedy-drama film The Paper (1994). Howard went on to win the Academy Award for Best Director and Academy Award for Best Picture for A Beautiful Mind (2001) and was nominated again for the same awards for the historical drama Frost/Nixon (2008). Howard has directed historical dramas such as Apollo 13 (1995), Cinderella Man (2005), Rush(2013), In the Heart of the Sea (2015), and Thirteen Lives (2022), the children's fantasy film How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000), the mystery-thriller series Robert Langdon (2006–2016), the comedy The Dilemma (2011), and the space drama Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018). He also directed numerous documentaries such as The Beatles: Eight Days a Week (2016), Pavarotti (2019), and We Feed People (2022). Description above from the Wikipedia article Ron Howard, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Directed 44

2020s

2010s

2019
Pavarotti
Director
75
2018
Solo: A Star Wars Story
Director
67
2016
Inferno
Director
50
The Beatles: Eight Days a Week - The Touring Years
Director
80
2015
In the Heart of the Sea
Director
59
Breakthrough
Director
71
2013
Made in America
Director
Rush
Director
81
2011
The Dilemma
Director
46
2010
Presidential Reunion
Director

2000s

2009
Angels & Demons
Director
57
2008
Frost/Nixon
Director
80
2006
The Da Vinci Code
Director
54
2005
Cinderella Man
Director
77
2003
The Missing
Director
61
2001
A Beautiful Mind
Director
78
2000
How the Grinch Stole Christmas
Director
58

1990s

1980s

1989
Parenthood
Director
77
1988
Willow
Director
62
1986
Gung Ho
Director
55
1985
Cocoon
Director
70
1984
Splash
Director
65
1982
Night Shift
Director
70
1981
Through the Magic Pyramid
Director
1980
Skyward
Director

1970s

1978
Cotton Candy
Director
1977
Grand Theft Auto
Director

1960s

1969
Old Paint
Director
Cards, Cads, Guns, Gore, and Death...
Director
Deed of Daring-Do
Director

No release date

Untitled How the Grinch Stole Christmas Sequel
Director

Produced 132

2020s

2026
Avedon
Producer
Swipe Right on the Devil
Executive Producer
Whalefall
Producer
Freefall: A Reckoning for Boeing
Executive Producer
75
Kyle Larson vs. The Double
Executive Producer
Marty, Life Is Short
Executive Producer
89
Summer of '94
Executive Producer
2025
Big Dreams: The Little League World Series 2024
Executive Producer
The Gringo Hunters
Executive Producer
68
Barbara Walters: Tell Me Everything
Executive Producer
Earnhardt
Executive Producer
Pets
Executive Producer
71
Eden
Producer
64
Fight for Glory: 2024 World Series
Executive Producer
David Blaine: Do Not Attempt
Executive Producer
Harlem Ice
Executive Producer
2024
Churchill at War
Executive Producer
76
The Lost Children
Executive Producer
71
Music by John Williams
Producer
84
I'm Not a Monster: The Lois Riess Murders
Executive Producer
Jim Henson Idea Man
Producer
80
Frida
Executive Producer
77
The Dynasty: New England Patriots
Executive Producer
82
The Truth About Jim
Executive Producer
Choir
Executive Producer
2023
Carlos
Executive Producer
79
The Super Models
Executive Producer
75
The Slumber Party
Executive Producer
69
The Beanie Bubble
Producer
57
Bono & The Edge: A Sort of Homecoming with Dave Letterman
Executive Producer
83
Tetris
Executive Producer
73
Bossy Bear
Executive Producer
Murf the Surf: Jewels, Jesus, and Mayhem in the USA
Executive Producer
Judy Blume Forever
Executive Producer
80
Taiwan Crime Stories
Executive Producer
66
2022
Willow
Executive Producer
60
Crime Scene: The Texas Killing Fields
Executive Producer
66
The Volcano: Rescue from Whakaari
Executive Producer
76
Personality Crisis: One Night Only
Executive Producer
The Tiny Chef Show
Executive Producer
Louis Armstrong's Black & Blues
Executive Producer
79
Wedding Season
Executive Producer
67
LIGHT & MAGIC
Executive Producer
85
Thirteen Lives
Producer
77
Web of Make Believe: Death, Lies and the Internet
Executive Producer
65
Leave No Trace
Executive Producer
72
Under the Banner of Heaven
Executive Producer
75
We Feed People
Producer
79
Downfall: The Case Against Boeing
Executive Producer
76
Lucy and Desi
Executive Producer
79
2021
Crime Scene: The Times Square Killer
Executive Producer
66
Paper & Glue
Executive Producer
tick, tick... BOOM!
Producer
77
Julia
Executive Producer
Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol
Executive Producer
66
Gossip
Executive Producer
Who Are You, Charlie Brown?
Executive Producer
76
The Day Sports Stood Still
Executive Producer
65
Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel
Executive Producer
63
We Are: The Brooklyn Saints
Executive Producer
2020
On Pointe
Executive Producer
The Astronauts
Executive Producer
70
Hillbilly Elegy
Producer
52
Curious George: Go West, Go Wild
Executive Producer
56
D. Wade: Life Unexpected
Producer
71
Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and the Band
Executive Producer
72
Rebuilding Paradise
Producer
73
68 Whiskey
Executive Producer

2010s

2019
Dads
Producer
72
Being Frank
Producer
Pavarotti
Producer
75
Backdraft 2
Executive Producer
49
2018
The Spy Who Dumped Me
Executive Producer
57
2017
The Dark Tower
Producer
43
Genius
Executive Producer
80
2016
Inferno
Producer
50
The Beatles: Eight Days a Week - The Touring Years
Producer
80
2015
In the Heart of the Sea
Producer
59
Prophet's Prey
Executive Producer
Curious George 3: Back to the Jungle
Executive Producer
58
2014
The Good Lie
Producer
75
2013
Made in America
Producer
Out of the Blue
Executive Producer
Rush
Producer
81
Curious George: A Halloween Boo Fest
Executive Producer
2012
Katy Perry: Part of Me
Producer
64
2011
Restless
Producer
Cowboys & Aliens
Producer
54
The Dilemma
Producer
46
2010
Parenthood
Producer, Executive Producer
81

2000s

2009
Curious George 2: Follow That Monkey!
Executive Producer
59
Angels & Demons
Producer
57
2008
Changeling
Producer
71
Frost/Nixon
Producer
80
2006
Curious George
Executive Producer
72
The Da Vinci Code
Producer
54
Curious George
Producer
65
2005
Cinderella Man
Producer
77
Inside Deep Throat
Producer
69
2004
The Alamo
Producer
57
2003
The Missing
Producer
61
Arrested Development
Executive Producer
84
2001
A Beautiful Mind
Producer
78
2000
How the Grinch Stole Christmas
Producer
58
Wonderland
Producer

1990s

1999
Beyond the Mat
Producer
EDtv
Producer
59
The PJs
Executive Producer
68
1998
Felicity
Producer, Executive Producer
69
Sports Night
Producer, Executive Producer
80
From the Earth to the Moon
Producer
85
1997
Inventing the Abbotts
Producer
56
1996
The Chamber
Producer
47
1992
Far and Away
Producer
60
1991
Closet Land
Executive Producer
1990
Parenthood
Producer

1980s

1989
The 'Burbs
Executive Producer
61
1988
Clean and Sober
Executive Producer
65
Vibes
Executive Producer
45
1987
No Man's Land
Executive Producer
57
1986
Gung Ho
Executive Producer
55
The Lone Star Kid
Executive Producer
1985
Into Thin Air
Executive Producer
No Greater Gift
Executive Producer
1983
When Your Lover Leaves
Executive Producer
1981
Through the Magic Pyramid
Executive Producer
Skyward Christmas
Executive Producer
1980
Skyward
Executive Producer
Leo and Loree
Executive Producer

No release date

Curious George
Producer
Dangerously Funny
Producer
Untitled How the Grinch Stole Christmas Sequel
Producer

Acted in 88

2020s

2025
The Studio
Ron Howard · 1 episode
79
2021
Only Murders in the Building
Ron Howard · 1 episode
81

2010s

2019
The Twilight Zone: A 60th Anniversary Celebration
Wilcox Boy (archive footage)
2016
This Is Us
Ron Howard (uncredited) · 4 episodes
86
2015
The Odd Couple
Stanley · 1 episode
62
2011
The Death and Return of Superman
Max's Son
Classic TV Bloopers Uncensored
Richie Cunningham (archive footage)