Ron Howard says he refused to let daughter Bryce Dallas Howard become a child actor because it's 'fraught with landmines'
Ron Howard spoke about raising his eldest daughter, actor Bryce Dallas Howard.
Ron said he didn't let Dallas become a child actor because she might be "unfairly compared" to him.
Ron began acting on "The Andy Griffith Show" at six years old.
Ron Howard explained why he refused to let his eldest daughter, Bryce Dallas Howard, become a child actor despite his own famed career.
Ron, 70, shared his thoughts in an interview with People published on Saturday. His comments come after Bryce, 43, told the outlet in February that her parents didn't allow her to enter the entertainment industry until adulthood.
"It's possible for child performers to really find a lot that is positive within it, but it's fraught with landmines," Ron told People, referring to young people working in Hollywood.
At six, Ron became a household name for portraying Opie Taylor on "The Andy Griffith Show." He starred on the show in the 1960s before finding more success on projects like "Happy Days." In the interview, Ron recalled how his parents — Rance and Jean Howard — were both actors who knew the importance of supervising their children on sets. At one point, Jean paused her career to help her sons, Ron said.
"On top of everything else, because the characters that I played as a child were so well-known as to almost be iconic... I also thought, 'Hey, if one of our kids tries to act as a child, boy or girl, they're going to be unfairly compared," Ron told the outlet.
He added that "The Andy Griffith Show' was already regarded as "mythically significant in TV history" by the time he began having children. Ron shares four now-adult children with his wife Cheryl: Bryce, Paige, Jocelyn, and Reed.
During Bryce's interview, she said she would have loved to act as a child but ultimately respects her parents' decision.
"I think if I had the chance to act younger, I would've taken it. But I wasn't allowed to," Bryce said. "My parents were very firm on that boundary, that they were not going to support anyone who wanted to be a child actor."
She added that her parents encouraged her to explore other industries during her childhood, including working on the assembly line of an allergy control product center, babysitting, dog walking, and becoming a nanny.
"I started working as a waitress on the weekends at a deli, and it was fantastic," Bryce told People. "Because I was 14, I needed to get a waiver from my parents to be on a payroll, and honestly, I was like, 'This is great.'"
In November 2021, Ron recalled his time on "Happy Days," saying he faced "a lot of disrespect" from network executives after Henry Winkler — who played "The Fonz" — became more popular.
"The press kept saying: 'What's it like? Do you feel that you've become a second-class citizen on your own show?'" Howard said on "The Graham Norton Show." "Which I didn't feel within the workspace. And I certainly didn't feel it within our friendship, which endures to this day."
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