Bryce Dallas Howard

Bryce Dallas Howard born March 2, 1981 is an American actress and director. She is the eldest daughter of actor and filmmaker Ron Howard. Born in Los Angeles, Howard attended New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, initially leaving in 1999 to take roles on Broadway, but officially graduated in 2020. While appearing in a 2003 production of As You Like It, Howard caught the attention of director M. Night Shyamalan, who cast her in the psychological thriller The Village (2004). It proved to be her breakout role, and she subsequently starred in the title role of Shyamalan’s fantasy thriller Lady in the Water (2006). Her performance in Kenneth Branagh’s As You Like It (2006) earned her a Golden Globe Award nomination, and she appeared as Gwen Stacy in Sam Raimi’s superhero film Spider-Man 3 (2007).

Howard went on to appear in the action film Terminator Salvation (2009) and the fantasy film The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (2010), both of which were financially successful but garnered mixed reviews from critics. Howard had supporting roles in the acclaimed 2011 comedy-dramas 50/50 and The Help. She gained wider recognition for starring as Claire Dearing in the adventure film Jurassic World (2015) and its sequel Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018), which rank as her most financially successful films. She also had a starring role in the adventure film Pete’s Dragon (2016) and a supporting role in the Elton John biopic Rocketman (2019). Howard’s directorial ventures include a segment of the television drama film Call Me Crazy: A Five Film (2013), the documentary Dads (2019), and episodes of the Disney+ science fiction series The Mandalorian (2019–2020). She is married to the actor Seth Gabel, with whom she has two children.

Early life and education

Howard was born March 2, 1981, in Los Angeles, California, to writer Cheryl Howard and actor-director Ron Howard. She has two younger sisters, twins Jocelyn and Paige, and a younger brother named Reed. Through her father, she is a granddaughter of actors Rance Howard and Jean Speegle Howard as well as a niece of actor Clint Howard. Her godfather is actor Henry Winkler, who co-starred on Happy Days with her father.

All of the Howard children were raised away from the world of show business; their parents did not allow them access to television and instead encouraged outdoor activities and hobbies. At the age of seven, she was permitted to be an extra in her father’s films. In an appearance on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen in 2017, she mentioned that she and her siblings were babysat by family friend Tom Cruise on several occasions. She was raised in Westchester County, New York, and on a farm in Greenwich, Connecticut.

Howard attended Stagedoor Manor, a performing arts camp in upstate New York, with actress Natalie Portman. After attending Greenwich Country Day School until 1996 and then graduating from Byram Hills High School in 1999, Howard studied at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts for three years, taking classes at the Stella Adler Studio of Acting, the Experimental Theatre Wing, and the International Theatre Workshop in Amsterdam. During her schooling, she took part in the concept recording of the Broadway-bound musical A Tale of Two Cities. She took a leave of absence from New York University to pursue roles without completing her degree. Decades later, she returned and completed her degree in 2020.

Howard is also an alumna of the Steppenwolf Theatre Company’s School at Steppenwolf in Chicago, and of The Actors Center in New York City. During her time in New York, Howard was also a member of downtown theater company Theater Mitu, in residence at New York Theatre Workshop, who are known for their exploration of theatrical forms.

Career

2002–2006: Early roles

For several years, Howard appeared in New York City theatrical productions. Her repertoire included House & Garden, a 2002 Alan Ayckbourn production held at the Manhattan Theatre Club, and Tartuffe, a theatrical comedy staged at the American Airlines Theatre. In 2003, Howard performed as Rosalind in the William Shakespeare comedy As You Like It at The Public Theater, where she caught the eye of director M. Night Shyamalan. Howard was subsequently cast in Shyamalan’s fantasy thriller The Village (2004) two weeks later without having to audition. She portrayed the female lead, Ivy, the chief’s blind daughter, opposite love interest Joaquin Phoenix. The film was a commercial success but met mixed reviews. Her performance was lauded by critics and Howard was nominated for several accolades. Howard was then cast by Lars von Trier to replace Nicole Kidman in Manderlay, the 2005 sequel to Dogville (2003). She reprised Kidman’s role as Grace Muligan, an idealistic woman who stays at a plantation in rural Alabama and later attempts to assist the revolt against slaveowners The film garnered mixed reviews.

Howard reunited with Shyamalan for Lady in the Water (2006), a fantasy drama where she plays Story, a naiad-like being from a bedtime story, opposite Paul Giamatti, a Philadelphia building superintendent who discovers her character in a pool. It underperformed at the box office, falling short of its budget budget, and was largely panned by critics. Howard once again portrayed Rosalind in Kenneth Branagh’s 2006 film adaptation of Shakespeare’s As You Like It. It was released in theaters across Europe before premiering on HBO in the United States. The film met negative reviews from British media, while American press coverage remained positive. Howard was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film at the 65th Golden Globe Awards for her role. That year, she wrote and directed a short film, Orchids, as part of Glamour magazine’s “Reel Moments” series funded by Cartier and FilmAid International.

2007–2014: Film success and rise to prominence

In 2007, Howard starred in her first blockbuster, Spider-Man 3 as Gwen Stacy. She described herself as a “huge fan” of the franchise, and did extensive research to prepare for the role, specifically regarding her comic background and “look”, which caused Howard to dye her hair blonde for the part. Howard performed many of her own stunts while filming, unaware that she was a few months pregnant at the time. The film was the highest-grossing installment of the trilogy and received mixed reception. Howard then starred in Terminator Salvation (2009); she replaced Claire Danes in the role of Kate Connor and was a fan of the series. She described her character’s role as “an emotional sounding board” at home base, and expressed the desire to expand into “intense action stuff” in potential future installments. The film was a financial success, but was not critically well-received. The Guardian described her role as “winsomely” while the New York Times wrote that Howard “upholds the maternal side of the original Sarah Connor legacy.”

Howard starred as a reluctant debutante opposite Chris Evans in The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond (2009), an independent film based on a 1957 screenplay by Tennessee Williams, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. Kirk Honeycutt of The Hollywood Reporter praised Howard’s “eye-catching performance”, describing her as a “must-see”, while Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times remarked her as “affecting” but not “electrifying, because the material doesn’t have it”. She joined the Twilight series’ third installment The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, portraying Victoria, a vampire seeking revenge, replacing Rachelle Lefevre. Howard was a fan of the book series and considered Victoria to be an “incredible character”. The film was a box office hit and faced mixed reviews, through Howard’s performance received critical acclaim, with the Honeycutt lauding her as “the epitome of sensual, feline cunning”.

Howard appeared in Clint Eastwood’s Hereafter (2010), as a love interest for Matt Damon’s character. Empire referred to her character as “twinkly” and stated that Howard and Damon’s “fine work” uplifted the film. Hereafter was a commercial hit but received mixed reception. In January 2011, Howard became the first celebrity ambassador for designer Kate Spade. She appeared in Tate Taylor’s 2011 film adaptation of Kathryn Stockett’s novel The Help. She played Hilly Holbrook, a racist socialite who leads the Junior League chapter in 1963 Jackson, Mississippi. The film was a critical and commercial success. The Miami Herald described her role as a “broadly comic villain” while the New York Times praised Howard for being “energetic in a thankless role.” Howard was nominated for numerous accolades, including an MTV Movie Award and a NAACP Image Award, winning a Critics’ Choice Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award alongside the rest of the cast.

Howard, alongside her father, produced Gus Van Sant’s Restless (2011), a dark coming-of-age movie about a teenage boy and girl who are engrossed with death. Howard offered considerable input on the screenwriting and directorial choices of the film. It premiered at the Cannes Film Festival to mixed reviews. She portrayed the “fair-weather” girlfriend of Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s in the cancer dramedy 50/50 (2011), based on true events. On the film, Howard stated that the premise was”viewing that experience through a very truthful lens of humour”, regarding its take on heavy subject matters. The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival to critical acclaim and was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy. The New York Times stated that Howard “makes a real character” out of the “shrewish” role while Los Angeles Times wrote that Howard was “rapidly becoming today’s preeminent Queen of Mean.” Howard directed the short film When You Find Me, a social film developed through a collaboration with Canon. The film was developed under the premise of gathering inspiration through images selected from a photography contest. 96,362 entries were accepted, while only eight final images were selected to be utilized for the production of the film.

2015–present: Mainstream recognition and directorial work

In 2015, Howard starred opposite Chris Pratt, in the science-fiction action film Jurassic World, the fourth installment in the Jurassic Park franchise. She portrayed Claire Dearing, the operations manager at the titular theme park who is “accomplished, flawed and myopic” and undergoes development throughout the film. Howard did extensive ankle exercises in order to complete the scenes where her character was “running through the jungle in heels” in almost three feet of mud, which she described as “one of the hardest things ever had to do.” Jurassic World was a commercial and critical success, with Howard’s performance and on-screen chemistry with Pratt receiving praise. Rolling Stone described her portrayal “dynamo” and “nobody’s patsy” while the Associated Press wrote that “it is Howard who makes the biggest impact her transformation is the most convincing one in a film full of dubious evolutions.” The Los Angeles Times and The Atlantic considered Dearing and her use of heels as “sexist”, while Bustle and Inquisitr labelled Howard’s character as a “feminist hero.” Howard disagreed with the former view, stating that the character was “disconnected from reality and herself” and was “in high heels because she’s a woman who has been in high heels her whole life, and she can f—ing sprint in them.””

In 2016, she starred in the fantasy adventure Pete’s Dragon, a remake of the 1977 film of the same name. Howard described the film was a “beautiful story” that “doesn’t step on the toes of the original.” Pete’s Dragon was released to critical and commercial success. Howard appeared in the crime drama Gold (2016) as the protagonist’s girlfriend, Kay. Gold opened to a limited release with mixed reviews. The Hollywood Reporter dubbed her portrayal “sturdy, salt-of-the-earth” type who “makes impression.” That same year, she appeared in “Nosedive”, an episode of the Netflix anthology series Black Mirror. Howard gained 30 pounds for the role as body shaming was a “huge part of the subtext of the story”. She chose a laugh for Lacie which mixed “fear”, “disingenuousness” and “depression”. Both the episode and Howard received critical praise; The Guardian lauded her portrayal as “brilliantly played” and The Atlantic wrote that “Howard’s performance is terrific—she conveys Lacie’s inner frustration while grinning cheerfully through it.” Howard received a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for her performance.

Howard reprised her role as Claire in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018), in which her character appears as a dinosaur-rights activist; the film was a commercial hit and received mixed reception. For certain scenes in the film, Howard trained with a veterinary surgeon with experience with African wildlife for accuracy. Variety stated that she “projects a luminous concern for God’s ancient revived creatures” while Empire praised both Pratt and Howard for “develop their characters beyond the archetypes they inhabited”. In 2019, Howard voiced the titular character, Bella in A Dog’s Way Home, which opened to critical and commercial success. Howard appeared as Elton John’s mother, Sheila Dwight, in the musical biopic Rocketman (2019), directed by Dexter Fletcher. Howard described her character as “witty, funny” and “very unhappy” with poor mental health. Howard worked extensively with make-up artists to design the character’s look as she aged and used Elizabeth Taylor as inspiration for her portrayal. Rocketman was a box office hit and garnered critical acclaim, receiving a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy. The Chicago Sun-Times praised Howard for her “finely nuanced work”, with CinemaBlend referring to her performance as a “wicked portrayal that really ties a film together”. 

Howard made her feature film directorial debut with the documentary film Dads. It premiered at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival, where it was named second runner-up for the People’s Choice Award for Documentaries. The film received critical acclaim; Variety wrote that “Howard favors observation over lecture, anecdotes over numbers, showing instead of telling what equally split primary-caregiving looks like in contemporary households” and The Guardian said the film “mixes the platitudinous with the genuinely moving”. She directed two episodes of the Disney+ series The Mandalorian, which premiered in 2019 and 2020. On the story, Howard said that the existence of a “larger world” in telling a story can be “a real asset”, while maintaining character depth and appeal to both casual and devoted viewers. Howard’s direction received positive response, with DiscussingFilm stating that she “crafts to be admirably quaint” and praised her “ecstatic framing” that made for “wholesome visuals” while Den of Geek declared that she ” the episode pop and “knows what makes Star Wars tick”.

Howard will again appear as Claire in Jurassic World: Dominion, set for release on June 10, 2022.

Personal life

During her senior year of high school, Howard learned of existentialism. “I was like, ‘This is it! This is my religion.’ I had never felt a connection to any sort of spirituality before that. It was very basic – you’re responsible for the choices that you make – but it was mind-blowing at the time.”

Howard met actor Seth Gabel at New York University, and the two dated for five years before marrying on June 17, 2006. They had planned to start a family together in their thirties; however, seven days after their wedding, she learned that she was pregnant with their first child. Howard gave birth to their son Theodore, nicknamed Theo, in 2007. Howard opened up about having experienced postpartum depression. With the help of a physician and a therapist she recovered from the depression, which lasted for about 18 months. Howard said of the depression in 2010:

“Do I wish I had never endured post-partum depression? Absolutely. But to deny the experience is to deny who I am. I still mourn the loss of what could have been, but I also feel deep gratitude for those who stood by me, for the lesson that we must never be afraid to ask for help, and for the feeling of summer that still remains.”

The couple had a second child, daughter Beatrice, in 2012.