‘I can’t be trusted around famous people’

Bryce Dallas Howard on her acting family, British slang and running away from dinosaurs in heels

Hi Bryce! If two generations make an acting family, do three make an acting dynasty? [Her father is director Ron Howard, both of whose

parents were actors.] JohnHunt

I think a dynasty is five generations or more, so we’re not even close. We’ve got a way to go. We’ve got three generations, so maybe I’ll be around for it when the Howards cross that threshold.

When you’re directing something that’s part of a larger collection, such as The Mandalorian, how do you find the balance between maintaining the tone and making something that reflects your own

artistic vision? porcospino Something like The Mandalorian is such an important story and piece of intellectual property.

It’s dramaturgically essential to understand the essence of the creator and what inspired them to create that in the first place, so whatever I’m building on is an extension of their original vision. In the case of Star Wars, it’s George Lucas, but I would feel that way no matter what the material is. It’s very important to have a deep, nuanced, compassionate and objective view when you take the baton.

What was it like making Argylle with such a stellar cast? Do you

ever get starstruck? TurangaLeela2 It’s a completely bananas movie, and that’s what the experience was like making it with this dazzling cast, Versace gowns and doing the whirlybird with Sam Rockwell, Sam [Samuel L] Jackson and Dua Lipa. I get starstruck extremely easily and it’s embarrassing. I blush, I stutter, I say weird things. I get too excited. I act like a fangirl and it takes a while for me to settle down. I can’t be trusted around famous people is the takeaway.

How did you learn that crying on command thing you demonstrated

on the Conan talkshow? MrChevett I taught myself. I heard that there was an acting technique based on the physiology of the human body and triggering certain physiological cues that would then cause you to laugh, blush, yawn or cry. I read the death scene of Romeo and Juliet every single night before bed, starting when I was 14 years old, and I would yawn because, when you yawn, your eyes get watery. I would yawn while saying the text, and got to a point where I could yawn without having the yawn response and could just talk and trigger my soft palate, which would trigger my tear ducts, which would cause tears. I’m doing it now. I’m yawning inside but I’ve learned how to talk while yawning and trigger my soft palate and tear ducts. See. Now there’s a little tear that’s coming down.

Your performance in Black Mirror was the best I’ve ever seen by an actor playing opposite a smartphone! littleisok

Thank you. That episode was so chilling for me personally because I had just joined social media two weeks before. I was a late adopter, so when we filmed that in 2016

I was in the throes of thinking: “What have I done to my life?” Then I read that script and thought: “Wow, this is going to be very therapeutic.”

You were impressive as Elton John’s mother, Sheila, in Rocketman. How did you manage the accent? Hooplehead1967

I had a wonderful dialect coach who helped me because Sheila is from Pinner [in north-west London] but she’s trying to seem like she’s very posh, so it’s more of a posh dialect than you’d probably find typically in Pinner. I’m glad that I’m not banned from England now! Do I think it’s easier for British actors to do American accents than the other way around? It’s probably because – and I’m about to make some terrible generalisation here –

British actors are incredibly well trained, and there’s such an exposure to American media.

Do I have any favourite British slang? I know I have to be careful when asking for my fanny pack. It’s bumbag. And bangs and fringe. I used to always have bangs and I would say: “I’m just blow drying my bangs. Hold on one second. I mean, fringe …”

Do you think your acting has improved because of your work as a director? Have you become a better director because of your acting experience? Or Send us your questions for next week’s interviewee theguardian.com/culture

does it go hand-in-hand? BMater

I learn a lot every time I work as either a director or an actor. My dad says that one of the things he misses most about being an actor is getting to watch other directors work because everyone does it a little bit differently. It’s what I love most about acting as well. With directing, I love working with really talented actors and finding ways to make them feel exceptionally empowered to do their best work. Both scenarios are fun and enlightening as it pertains to the other role.

Do you have any interest in performing on Broadway again? jdsasser

Yes. Now that my kids are getting older, that’s definitely something that I’ve been thinking about.

If you had to replace the Dallas in your name for another city, which

would you pick? Ellis1997

There are some good ones. My niece is named Aspen, which is good. I grew up in Connecticut where there’s a place called Mystic, so Mystic Connecticut could be fun. Or Bryce Hollywood Howard!

What was Tom Cruise like as a babysitter? TopTramp

He wasn’t my babysitter. He just was in a movie [1992’s Far and Away] directed by my dad. My siblings and I were quite young at the time, so he was just a big kid who was really fun and would entertain us with backflips and feed us whatever we asked for. He was always really cool.

Tom Cruise would entertain us kids with backflips and feed us whatever we asked for. He was cool

Are high heels really the best shoes to wear when running away from a

T rex [in Jurassic World]? dude1981 Actually, I had the choice to take off my shoes. In the scene, I push up my sleeves and there was going to potentially be a bit where I threw off my high heels, but just being out there in the jungle terrain, I thought: “I’ll do better in heels.”

Have you ever experienced any ginger-ism in your career or

personal life? TopTramp

That’s the first time I’ve ever heard that term! Apparently, we’re going extinct, and I’ve contributed to it. Neither of my children are redheads. I went to the Louvre over my birthday weekend in March and walked around and almost every single painting was of a redhead. So we’ve ruled long enough! As told to Rich Pelley Aryglle is on Apple TV