Bryce Dallas talks about starting career as a director
American actor and director Bryce Dallas Howard is best recognised for her diverse acting roles, but she's gradually establishing a second career as a filmmaker — and she fully expects to continue playing dual roles in Hollywood, according to People.
"I love directing and it's as important to me as acting and it's always been happening in the background," said the Argylle actor.
Bryce, 42, directed the 2019 documentary Dads and many episodes of several Star Wars series, including The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, and the upcoming Star Wars: Skeleton Crew.
Speaking to People she said that she draws inspiration from fellow multi-hyphenates such as Robert Redford and Jon Favreau. Bryce, of course, looks at her own father's successful move from onscreen to behind-the-camera job.
"My dad never intentionally shut off acting; he just started directing full time and he still talks about it. He's like, 'Oh, I'd love to act,” shares Bryce of her father, Oscar-winning director and Happy Days alum Ron Howard. "But he makes zero time for it. For me, I hope it's something where I'm lucky enough to do both in some capacity."
Bryce claimed she has shadowed Ron on set to gain inspiration from his approach. She requested to be a fly on the wall as he helmed 2018's Solo: A Star Wars Story, which he was "not really into" at first. Her previous expertise and enthusiasm in working with special effects companies and developing technologies on movies such as the Jurassic World franchise (which had some of the same crew as Solo) influenced him.
"My pitch was like, 'Really? I know everyone. Please. I just finished working with everyone for the last six months,'" she shared. "I was like, 'The crew is not going to be uncomfortable with me. I promise. I'll be invisible.'"
According to People, curious by nature, Bryce notes that she's "very nosy" on the set — from how much animatronics cost to why certain special effects are used. It's all helped build up her knowledge base, and she found her interest and feedback has been welcomed: "(On Jurassic) everyone was really open with me and they weren't like, 'Oh, just sit over there little girl.' "
A notably inclusive environment was also present on Argylle, her spy action comedy out Friday. Director Matthew Vaughn was "so generous and so open," said Bryce, and allowed her into his process. "What's funny is that Argylle is a movie about spies and in my life; I've always had this perspective that it's like, infiltrate the set. Learn, learn, learn as much as possible," she added.
No matter what, Bryce sees every opportunity in the industry as a positive step in her overall journey: "It's been really wonderful to lean more into gaining experience than finding that perfect one thing," she says. "And I love to work," reported People.