Ron Howard
Known for: Directing
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.
Filmography
Series
The Kelly Clarkson Show
Self
2019
Series
The Simpsons
Ron Howard (voice)
1989
Series
Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen
Self - Guest
2009
Series
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
Self
2014
Series
The Daily Show
Self
1996
Series
Late Night with Seth Meyers
Self - Guest
2014
Series
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
Self - Guest
2015
Series
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
2015
Series
The Mike Douglas Show
Self
1961
Series
The Mike Douglas Show
Self - Co-Host
1961
Series
The Colbert Report
2005
Series
Real Time with Bill Maher
Self
2003
Series
Saturday Night Live
Self - Host
1975
Series
Saturday Night Live
Contestant #2 (uncredited)
1975
Series
The View
Self
1997
Series
The View
Self - Guest
1997
Series
The Graham Norton Show
Self
2007
Series
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Self - Guest
2003
Series
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Self
2003
Series
Frasier
Stephen (voice)
1993
Series
Bonanza
Ted Hoag
1959
Series
Lassie
1954
Series
Great Performances
Self
1971
Series
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
1992
Series
This Is Us
Ron Howard (uncredited)
2016
Series
M*A*S*H
Wendell
1972
Series
The Andy Griffith Show
Opie Taylor
1960
Series
Top Gear
Self
2002
Series
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
Self
2003
Series
The Fugitive
Gus
1963
Series
The Waltons
1972
Series
Happy Days
1974
Series
Happy Days
Richie Cunningham
1974
Series
Arrested Development
Narrator
2003
Series
Love, American Style
Richie Cunningham
1969
Series
The Twilight Zone
Wilcox Boy
1959
Series
Golden Globe Awards
Self - Presenter
1944
Series
Golden Globe Awards
Self - Nominee
1944
Series
Golden Globe Awards
Self - Accepting Award for Best Motion Picture Drama / Nominee
1944
Series
The Red Skelton Show
Joey
1951
Series
The South Bank Show
1978
Series
Only Murders in the Building
Ron Howard
2021
Series
Dr. Kildare
Jerry Prentice
1961
Series
The Big Valley
Tommy
1965
Series
Daniel Boone
Luke
1964
Series
Laverne & Shirley
1976
Series
Laverne & Shirley
Richie Cunningham
1976
Series
Route 66
1960
Series
Dinah!
Self
1974
Series
The Bob Hope Show
Self
1950
Series
The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis
1959
Series
The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis
Little Boy Eating Candy Bar
1959
Series
The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis
Little Boy with Ray Gun
1959
Series
Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.
Opie Taylor
1964
Series
Off Camera with Sam Jones
Self
2014
Series
The F.B.I.
Jess Orkin
1965
Series
Gunsmoke
Jamie
1955
Series
Chelsea
Self
2016
Series
Kulturplatz
Self
2004
Series
The Studio
Ron Howard
2025
Series
The Danny Thomas Show
Opie Taylor
1953
Series
Dennis the Menace
1959
Series
Dennis the Menace
Stewart
1959
Series
The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn
Self - Guest
1999
Series
Mayberry R.F.D.
Opie Taylor
1968
Series
The Danny Kaye Show
Self
1963
Series
People's Choice Awards
Self - Winner
1975
Series
The DuPont Show with June Allyson
Wim
1959
Series
Judd, for the Defense
1967
Series
Land of the Giants
Jodar
1968
Series
The Oscars
Self
1953
Film
A Beautiful Mind
Man at Governor's Ball (uncredited)
2001
Series
I Spy
Alan Loden
1965
Series
The Odd Couple
Stanley
2015
Series
Lancer
1968
Series
Pete and Gladys
1960
Series
Gentle Ben
Jerry
1967
Series
Gentle Ben
Jody Cutler
1967
Series
Donny & Marie
Self
1976
Series
The Wonderful World of Disney
Chris
1954
Where Are They Now?
Self
1999
Series
The New Breed
Tommy Simms
1961
Series
100 Years of Warner Bros.
Self
2023
Series
The Great Adventure
Daniel Waterhouse
1963
Series
Johnny Ringo
Ricky Parrott
1959
Series
LIGHT & MAGIC
Self - Academy Award Winning Filmmaker
2022
Series
LIGHT & MAGIC
Self
2022
Series
LIGHT & MAGIC
Self - Director, Cocoon
2022
Series
LIGHT & MAGIC
Self - Director, Willow
2022
Series
The Bold Ones: The New Doctors
Cory Merlino
1969
Series
The American Film Institute Salute to ...
Self
1973
Series
Battle of the Network Stars
1976
Series
The Monroes
1966
Series
How To with John Wilson
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
2020
Series
The Smith Family
Bob Smith
1971
Series
Reunited Apart
Self
2020
Series
The Captain and Tennille
Self - Guest
1976
Series
The Fonz and the Happy Days Gang
Richie Cunningham
1980
Film
American Graffiti
Steve Bolander
1973
Film
Osmosis Jones
Tom Colonic (voice)
2001
Film
Marty, Life Is Short
Self
2026
Series
E! True Hollywood Story
1996
Film
John Candy: I Like Me
Self - Director, Splash (archive footage)
2025
Series
MADtv
Self
1995
Series
The Headmaster
1970
Series
General Electric Theater
Barnaby Baxter
1953
Series
General Electric Theater
Randy
1953
Film
The Shootist
Gillom Rogers
1976
Series
Five Fingers
1959
Film
Music by John Williams
Self - Filmmaker
2024
Film
Night Shift
Annoying Sax Player (uncredited)
1982
Film
Willow: Behind the Magic
Self - Director, Willow, 1988 / Executive Producer, Willow, 2022
2023
Film
Dads
Self
2019
Series
Greatest Geek Year Ever! 1982
Self
2023
Series
Inside the Actors Studio
Self
1994
Film
Welcome to Hollywood
Ron Howard
2000
Film
More American Graffiti
Steve Bolander
1979
Film
The Courtship of Eddie's Father
Eddie Corbett
1963
Film
The Music Man
Winthrop Paroo
1962
Film
Radioman
Self
2012
Film
Corman's World
Self - Filmmaker
2011
Film
The Journey
Billy Rhinelander
1959
Film
The Spikes Gang
Les
1974
Film
Peanuts in Space: Secrets of Apollo 10
Self
2019
Film
Roger Corman, the Pope of Pop Cinema
Self
2021
Film
The Wild Country
Virgil Tanner
1970
Film
The Happy Days of Garry Marshall
Self
2020
Film
Donald Trump's The Art of the Deal: The Movie
Himself
2016
Film
From Star Wars to Star Wars: The Story of Industrial Light & Magic
Self
1999
Film
Classic TV Bloopers Uncensored
Richie Cunningham (archive footage)
2011
Film
Hans Zimmer: Hollywood Rebel
Self
2022
Film
Enterprise or Love: The Story of Far and Away
Self
2024
Film
Village of the Giants
Genius
1965
Film
The Arrested Development Documentary Project
Self
2013
Film
The Twilight Zone: A 60th Anniversary Celebration
Wilcox Boy (archive footage)
2019
Film
The First Nudie Musical
Auditioning Actor
1976
Film
Frank Capra's American Dream
Self
1997
Film
Five Minutes to Live
Bobby Wilson
1961
Film
Roger Corman: Hollywood's Wild Angel
Self
1978
Film
Cannes: All Access
Self
2007
Film
Industrial Light & Magic: Creating the Impossible
Self
2010
Film
Eat My Dust
Hoover Niebold
1976
Film
Tom Hanks: The Nomad
Self (archive footage)
2023
Film
The Making of 'American Graffiti'
Self
1998
Film
Star Wars: The Magic & the Mystery
Self
1997
The Horror Hall of Fame II
Self
1991
Film
Grand Theft Auto
Sam Freeman
1977
Film
Happy Mother's Day, Love George
Johnny
1973
Film
The Independent
Ron Howard
2000
Film
The Death and Return of Superman
Max's Son
2011
Film
Fuck Coin
Self
2021
Film
Fire on the Mountain
Lee Mackie
1981
Film
Willow: The Making of an Adventure
Self - Director
1988
Film
I'm a Fool
Andy
1977
Film
Hollywood's Funniest All-Star Bloopers
Self (archive footage)
1985
Film
Sci-Fi Channel: The Making of Apollo 13
Self
1995
Television: The First Fifty Years
Self / Opie Taylor / Ritchie Cunningham (archive footage)
1999
Film
Laddie: The Man Behind the Movies
Self
2017
Film
Chuck Jones: Extremes and In-Betweens - A Life in Animation
Self
2000
Film
'Tis the Season: The Holidays on Screen
Self - Commentator
2022
Film
NBC Salutes the 25th Anniversary of the Wonderful World of Disney
Self - Host
1978
Film
Tell Them Who You Are
Self
2004
Film
Sheldon Leonard's Wonderful Life
Self
2011
Film
Inside a Beautiful Mind
Self
2002
Film
George Lucas: Creating an Empire
Self
2002
Film
Christopher Plummer: A Man For All Stages
Self
2002
Film
Lost Moon: The Triumph of Apollo 13
Self
1996
Film
Return to Mayberry
Opie Taylor
1986
Film
The Magical World of Chuck Jones
Self
1992
Film
Bitter Harvest
Ned De Vries
1981
Film
John Wayne: Cowboys & Demons
Self
2023
Film
Don't Say No Until I Finish Talking: The Story of Richard D. Zanuck
Self
2013
Film
A Boy Called Nuthin’
Richie 'Nuthin'' Caldwell
1967
Film
Hollywood on Hollywood
Host
1993
Film
Weezer: Video Capture Device - Treasures from the Vault 1991-2002
Richie Cunningham ("Buddy Holly") (archive footage)
2004
Film
Bob Hope's Bicentennial Star-Spangled Spectacular
Self
1976
Film
From Morf to Morphing: The Dawn of Digital Filmmaking
Self - Director
2001
Film
The Shootist: The Legend Lives On
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
2001
Film
A Walking Tour of Sesame Street
Richie Cunningham (archive footage)
1979
Film
Blacklist: Hollywood on Trial
Herbert Biberman
1996
Sitcom: The Adventures of Garry Marshall
Self
1979
Film
The Migrants
Lyle Barlow
1974
Film
Act of Love
Leon Cybulkowski
1980
Film
Locusts
Donny Fletcher
1974
Film
First Works
Self
1989
Film
Henry Fonda: Hollywood's Quiet Hero
Self
1997
Film
Jews and Baseball: An American Love Story
Self
2010
Film
Ron Howard: 50 Years in Film
Self
2008
Tom Hanks: A League of His Own
Self
2016
Film
Making a 'Splash'
Self - Director
2004
Film
Huckleberry Finn
Huckleberry Finn
1978
Film
Kasdan on Kasdan
Self
2018
Film
A Special: Olivia Newton-John
1976
Film
Channel 99
1988
Film
Smoke
Chris (as Ronny Howard)
1970