The one actor taught Ron Howard a lesson about directing: “I underestimated this guy”
Ron Howard doesn’t seem like the type of director who would completely overlook the brilliance of his cast. Leave that to singleminded auteurs like Alfred Hitchcock, who referred to his actors as cattle, or David Fincher, who famously forces his actors to take dozens upon dozens of takes with very little encouragement in between.
Howard, on the other hand, has a reputation for being extremely friendly. Maybe it has to do with being a child actor on such television comforts as The Andy Griffith Show or Happy Days. More likely, however, is that it’s just a fact. Where other directors build an aura of intimidation and ruthlessness, he has built an aura of easy-going approachability.
It clearly works. Since the 1970s, his movies have racked up impressive box office receipts and entered the annals of cinematic classics. He might not be churning out arthouse masterpieces, but there is no denying the masterful handle on the medium that makes movies like Apollo 13 and Frost/Nixon so darn riveting.
He’s worked with some of the best actors in the business and shepherded them toward Oscars, so it would be hard to argue that he simply doesn’t know a good performance when he sees one. However, according to Howard himself, he didn’t always recognise the skill that his actors were bringing. During an interview on the Smartless podcast in 2020, the director revealed that it was Tom Hanks who really classed him in the subtlety that he might not pick up on until he was reviewing footage.
Hanks first worked with Howard on Splash, the unlikely 1984 hit comedy about a man who falls in love with a mermaid. Howard knew that the actor had some experience on television (he had yet to become a household name) and was engaging in front of the camera. However, he was a little worried about his talents as a comedian.
“He was sort of supposed to be the straight man of this movie,” the director said, explaining that co-stars Eugene Levy and John Candy were supposed to provide the humour. “I was really cautious about him maintaining his credibility at all times,” Howard continued, “And he’s funny, and he was trying to invent, but I felt like he was sort of trying to keep up with Eugene and John when I really needed him to just be rock solid.”
So, he told Hanks that he wasn’t sold on his approach to his role but that he’d let him try it out anyway. It was a pivotal moment. “When I got to the editing,” Howard said, “I underestimated this guy.” All of a sudden, he could see exactly what Hanks was doing and it was, in fact, perfect for the film.
“I remember saying if I ever get to work with Tom again, I’m gonna I’m gonna invite a lot more of this,” Howard concluded.
Sure enough, he and Hanks have collaborated on five films, including Apollo 13, which earned nine Oscar nominations. Unfortunately, the other three were the Da Vinci Code movies, but they can hardly be blamed on the relationship between the director and his star.
