Child acting is not for the faint of heart.
Reliving your childhood can be no easy task, especially when faced with reconciling your good memories of adolescence with the bad, sometimes even coming to terms with the fact that sometimes, they’re actually the same thing.
Although he has since turned to directing, Ron Howard had more of a career as a child actor than many adult actors can claim in their entire lifetime. For the most part, Howard enjoyed the experience. Speaking to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Howard said, “Other kids may resent [acting], but mostly I really enjoyed it. I felt very comfortable. I understood it. It was an environment where I knew I was excelling.”
It’s a joy that Howard credited to his mother and father, who are also actors. Howard stated, “My dad gave me a lot of confidence and was teaching me how to do it, teaching me how to think, so I was actually learning a craft.”
Moreover, Howard emphasized that the lessons he learned in acting as a child actually benefit him after he grew up.
He said, “The things I learned as a child I was able to apply as an adult, whereas a lot of child actors have to unlearn the cutesy tricks that sabotage them later on when they’re trying to operate on a more adult level.
Still, in that same interview, Howard confessed that he doesn’t recommend child stardom as a career for others.
He said, “I always try to discourage parents from putting their children in this business, especially little kids.” He also rationalized, “I’m one of the few child actors who got through it without a lot of anger and resentment. Most child actors aren’t taught how to act. They’re sort of taught how to perform. They’re like trained animals. I think I made it through because I was working toward something. I had a different dream.”
