By now, everyone is well aware that Bryce Dallas Howard is a woman of many talents. Over the years, the Los Angeles native has left a strong impression onscreen with her performance in the Oscar-winning film The Help, the Netflix hit series Black Mirror, and more recently, the Jurassic World movies.At the same time, the actress has also been busy behind the scenes. Most recently, she linked up with fellow actor-filmmaker Jon Favreau as she directed two episodes of his Star Wars series The Mandalorian. And while Howard may have at least one more directing gig come up, the actress also made it clear that she has no plans to give up acting ever.
Bryce Dallas Howard Landed Her Directing Gigs After Shadowing Her Dad
Howard hasn’t really been directing for as long as she has been acting, although no one is surprised that she has taken to the craft naturally as her father is none other than acclaimed filmmaker Ron Howard. When she decided to work in Hollywood, however, her father to her that it would be best to explore as many aspects of the industry as possible.
In 2003, she performed on stage in Shakespeare’s As You Like It, which caught the eye of M. Night Shyamalan. The following year, she would appear as the lead character in his hit thriller The Village. From there, more roles came, including that of park operations manager Claire Dearing in the Jurassic World trilogy.
As for filmmaking, Howard also had the opportunity to work on some shorts in partnership with Canon. Later on, however, she found herself getting offered some major directing gigs. One might say that it all started when her father was tapped to direct Solo: A Star Wars Story at the last minute and Howard asked to shadow him. The next thing she knew, she was invited to do a filmmaking workshop by Lucasfilm producer John Swartz.
After that, Howard believes that her name “got put on a list” and in 2018, Favreau reached out to her for The Mandalorian. “We got on the phone, and he talked through Star Wars and George, and what was incredibly meaningful about Star Wars and storytelling and sharing these really beautiful, inspiring sentiments,” the actress recalled.
“And then he said, ‘I’ve written a series, and I’d love for you to take a look at it. You can come in and I’ll show you all the artwork and stuff, and we can talk about it, and you can see if you’d be interested. And so then I read the pilot, and when it got to Baby Yoda, I was just like, What am I reading?!”
The meeting led to Howard directing two episodes of The Mandalorian and later on, an episode of Favreau’s The Book of Boba Fett. Instantly, Favreau became a fan of Howard’s approach even though he apparently didn’t see any of her shorts. “The aspect of Bryce’s directing style that has struck me from the beginning is how thorough she is,” Favreau remarked. “She gives everything a lot of thought and is well prepared for every scene.”
Around the same time, Howard also directed the Apple TV+ documentary Dads, which featured her father. “My hope is that this is a movie for dads so that they don't feel so alone,” she said of the film.
Despite Her Directing Success, Bryce Dallas Howard Will ‘Never’ Quit Acting
Howard may be receiving a lot of praise for her work behind the camera, but that doesn’t mean that she’d ever want to give up acting entirely. After all, participating in the filmmaking process as an actress offers an entirely different experience.
“One of the things that my dad has said he's missed the most about acting is getting to see other directors work,” she explained. “When you direct, you have your set, but you're not actually getting to be exposed to the way other people do it. It's what I crave. It's one of the main reasons why I would never want to give up acting. Never.”
And while Howard may be open to pursuing all kinds of film/series roles, the actress has certain conditions when it comes to stunt work. For starters, she is not keen on going all-in like Tom Cruise. “I want [sic] be able to do as much as possible that is never going to slow production down, but my rule is that insurance has to cover it,” the actress explained.
As far as directing goes, Howard is set to helm the upcoming adventure comedy Flight of the Navigator, which tells the story of a child who makes a surprising return after disappearing over a decade ago. At the same time, the actress is also reportedly attached to the direct at least one episode of the upcoming third season of The Mandalorian.
At the same time, fans can expect to see Howard onscreen next in Matthew Vaughn’s latest action film Argylle. The cast also includes Samuel L. Jackson, Henry Cavill, Dua Lipa, Sam Rockwell, Ariana DeBose, Bryan Cranston, and John Cena.