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 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 (2018). He has also directed the documentary films (2016) and Pavarotti (2019).
| Year | Title | width=60 | Director | width=60 | Producer | width=60 | Actor | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1969 | Old Paint | Credited as Ronny Howard | |||||||
| Deed of Daring-Do | |||||||||
| Cards, Cads, Guns, Gore and Death | |||||||||
| 2011 | The Death and Return of Superman | Max's Son | |||||||
| When You Find Me | |||||||||
| Year | Title | width=65 | Director | width=65 | Producer | width=65 | Writer | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 | Grand Theft Auto | [1] | ||||||
| 1982 | Night Shift | [2] | ||||||
| 1984 | Splash | [3] | ||||||
| 1985 | Cocoon | [4] | ||||||
| 1986 | Gung Ho | [5] | ||||||
| 1988 | Willow | [6] | ||||||
| 1989 | Parenthood | [7] | ||||||
| 1991 | Backdraft | [8] | ||||||
| 1992 | Far and Away | [9] | ||||||
| 1994 | The Paper | [10] | ||||||
| 1995 | Apollo 13 | [11] | ||||||
| 1996 | Ransom | [12] | ||||||
| 1999 | EDtv | [13] | ||||||
| 2000 | How the Grinch Stole Christmas | [14] | ||||||
| 2001 | A Beautiful Mind | [15] | ||||||
| 2003 | The Missing | [16] | ||||||
| 2005 | Cinderella Man | [17] | ||||||
| 2006 | The Da Vinci Code | |||||||
| 2008 | Frost/Nixon | [18] | ||||||
| 2009 | Angels & Demons | |||||||
| 2011 | The Dilemma | |||||||
| 2013 | Rush | |||||||
| 2015 | In the Heart of the Sea | |||||||
| 2016 | Inferno | |||||||
| 2018 | [19] | |||||||
| 2020 | Hillbilly Elegy | |||||||
| 2022 | Thirteen Lives | [20] | ||||||
| 2024 | Eden | [21] | ||||||
| TBA | The Shrinking of Treehorn | [22] | ||||||
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1956 | Frontier Woman | Bit Part | Uncredited | |
| 1959 | The Journey | Billy Rhinelander | Credited as Ronny Howard | |
| 1959 | Walking Distance | Boy with marbles | ||
| 1961 | Five Minutes to Live | Bobby | ||
| 1962 | The Music Man | Winthrop Paroo | ||
| 1963 | The Courtship of Eddie's Father | Eddie | ||
| 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 Player Boy making out with girlfriend | Uncredited cameos | |
| 1998 | Welcome 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 | Himself | |||
| 2022 | Scream | Principal Himbry (Stab) | Uncredited – image appearance |
| Year | Title | width=60 | Director | width=60 | Producer | width=60 | Himself |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | The Magical World of Chuck Jones | ||||||
| 1998 | One Vision | ||||||
| 1999 | Beyond the Mat | ||||||
| 2004 | Tell Them Who You Are | ||||||
| 2005 | Inside Deep Throat | ||||||
| 2007 | In the Shadow of the Moon | ||||||
| 2012 | |||||||
| 2013 | Made in America | ||||||
| 2016 | |||||||
| 2019 | Pavarotti | ||||||
| Dads | |||||||
| 2020 | Rebuilding Paradise | ||||||
| Breakthrough: Virus Fighters | |||||||
| 2021 | Paper & Glue | ||||||
| Julia | |||||||
| 2022 | Lucy and Desi | ||||||
| We Feed People | |||||||
| 2024 | Jim Henson Idea Man[23] [24] |
| Year | Title | Director | Executive producer | Writer | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | Cotton Candy | TV movie | ||||
| 1980 | Skyward | |||||
| 1981 | Through the Magic Pyramid | |||||
| 1983 | Littleshots | |||||
| 2017 | Genius | Pilot episode |
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | From the Earth to the Moon | Miniseries |
| 1999 | Student Affairs | TV movie |
| 2000 | Wonderland | |
| 2015–present | Breakthrough | |
| Year | Title | Role | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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–present | Curious George | ||
| 2010–2015 | Parenthood | ||
| 2012 | The Great Escape | ||
| 2014 | Unsung Heroes | TV documentary | |
| 2016–2018 | Mars | ||
| 2020 | 68 Whiskey | ||
| 2021 | Documentary series | ||
| 2022 | Under the Banner of Heaven | ||
| Light & Magic | Documentary series | ||
| Willow | |||
| 2023 | The Super Models | Documentary series | |
| The Slumber Party | TV Movie | ||
| 2024 | The Truth About Jim | Documentary series |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1959 | Johnny 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 episodes | ||
| The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis | Various roles | 4 episodes | ||
| General Electric Theater | Barnaby Baxter/Randy | 2 episodes: | ||
| Hennesey | Walker | Episode: "The Baby Sitter" | ||
| 1960 | The Danny Thomas Show | Opie Taylor | Episode: "Danny Meets Andy Griffith" | |
| Cheyenne | Timmy | Episode: "Counterfeit Gun," uncredited | ||
| Pete and Gladys | Tommy | Episode: "The Goat Story" | ||
| 1960–1968 | The Andy Griffith Show | Opie Taylor | Series regular, 243 episodes Credited as Ronny Howard | |
| 1962 | Route 66 | Chet Duncan | Episode: "Poor Little Kangaroo Rat" | |
| The New Breed | Tommy Simms | Episode: "So Dark the Night" | ||
| 1963 | The Eleventh Hour | Barry Stewart | Episode: "Is Mr. Martian Coming Back?" | |
| 1964 | The Great Adventure | Daniel Waterhouse | Episode: "Plague" | |
| Dr. Kildare | Jerry Prentice | Episode: "A Candle in the Window" | ||
| The Fugitive | Gus | Episode: "Cry Uncle" | ||
| 1965 | The Big Valley | Tommy | Episode: "Night of the Wolf" | |
| 1966 | Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. | Opie Taylor | Episode: "Opie Joins the Marines" | |
| I Spy | Alan Loden | Episode: "Little Boy Lost" | ||
| 1967 | The Monroes | Timothy Prescott | Episode: "Teaching the Tiger to Purr" | |
| Gentle Ben | Jody Cutler | Episode: "Green-Eyed Bear" | ||
| 1968 | Mayberry R.F.D. | Opie Taylor | Episode: "Andy and Helen Get Married" | |
| The Archie Show | Archie Andrews | Early Pilot Cartoon | ||
| The F.B.I. | Jess Orkin | Episode: "The Runaways" | ||
| Lancer | Turk Caudle/Willy | 2 episodes | ||
| 1969 | Judd 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" | ||
| 1970 | Smoke | Chris | TV movie | |
| The Headmaster | Tony Landis | Season 1 - Episode 6 | ||
| Lassie | Gary | Episode: "Gary Here Comes Glory!" Part 1 & 2 | ||
| 1971–1972 | The Smith Family | Bob Smith | ||
| 1972 | Love, American Style | Richard "Richie" Cunningham | Episode: "Love and the Happy Days" | |
| Cory Merlino | Episode: "Discovery at Fourteen" | |||
| Bonanza | Ted Hoag | Episode: "The Initiation" | ||
| 1973 | M*A*S*H | Private Walter Wendell Peterson | Episode: "Sometimes You Hear the Bullet" | |
| 1974 | The Waltons | Seth Turner | Episode: "The Gift" | |
| 1974–1984 | Happy Days | Richard "Richie" Cunningham | ||
| 1974 | Locusts | Donny Fletcher | TV movie | |
| The Migrants | Lyle Barlow | |||
| 1975 | Huckleberry Finn | Huckleberry Finn | ||
| 1975–1981 | Insight | Connie/Joe | 2 episodes | |
| 1976 | Laverne & Shirley | Richie Cunningham | 2 episodes | |
| I'm a Fool | Andy | TV movie | ||
| 1980 | The Fonz and the Happy Days Gang | Richie Cunningham | Voice role, Episode: "King for a Day" | |
| Act of Love | Leon Cybulkowski | TV movie | ||
| 1981 | Bitter Harvest | Ned De Vries | ||
| Fire on the Mountain | Lee Mackie | |||
| 1983 | When Your Lover Leaves | TV movie, Uncredited | ||
| 1986 | Return to Mayberry | Opie Taylor | TV movie | |
| 1988 | Channel 99 | Himself | ||
| 1998–1999 | The Simpsons | Himself | Voice role, 2 episodes | |
| 1999 | Frasier | Stephen | Voice role, Episode: "Good Samaritan" | |
| 2003–2006, 2013, 2018–2019 | Arrested Development | Narrator (voice only) Self (8 episodes) | Series Regular, all seasons, uncredited; voice role Credited as Guest Star, 8 episodes across Seasons 3-5 | |
| 2016 | The Odd Couple | Stanley | Episode: "Taffy Days" | |
| 2017 | This Is Us | Himself | 3 Episodes |