Ron Howard

Academy Award winning film-maker and actor, Ron Howard has directed Frost/Nixon, Apollo 13, A Beautiful Mind and The DaVinci Code. Howard co-owns Imagine Entertainment, a film-production company, with Brian Grazer. As a child, Howard starred in The Andy Griffith Show and as a teenager he starred opposite Henry Winkler in Happy Days.

While filming Angels and Demons, Howard stated he felt Vatican officials were hampering with production by not letting him film in desired locations and having their hand in canceling promotions slated for the film's release.Reuters: Angels & Demons Director Sees Vatican Meddling (May 3, 2009)

• Born in Oklahoma, Ron Howard became a child actor who came to national prominence during the 1960 television show, The Andy Griffith Show. Howard went on to play Richie Cunningham on the 1970s comedy, Happy Days. Although at the time he was known as an actor and former child star, Howard decided to move his career into directing, rather than acting. He made his directorial debut with the 1977 project, Grand Theft Auto and later went on to direct and win an Oscar for A Beautiful Mind which starred Russell Crowe.

Frost/Nixon was nominated for five Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Actor (Frank Langella) and Best Director for Howard.Official Site: 2009 Oscar Nominees

• "We didn't shoot at the Vatican ... officially. But cameras can be made really small."—Ron Howard speaking about Angels & DemonsThe Gazette: Ron Howard, Vatican Trespasser (November 29, 2008)

• "Howard seems to be perfect for reviving history and making from it a best seller."—eFlux Media eFlux Media: Frost/Nixon When History Hits the Big Screen (December 1, 2008)

• Regarding selecting Ron Howard to direct Frost/Nixon: "I just feel that if I'm English and writing about an American president, I have got to have someone on my side who can help me out when I'm lapsing into lazy or obvious European scepticism."—Peter Morgan, Frost/Nixon writer and executive producerMetro: Clooney Wanted to Direct Frost/Nixon (December 1, 2008)

• "One of the virtues of Frost/Nixon, Ron Howard's adaptation of Peter Morgan's hit play, is that it brings the intelligence back to the forefront without dispelling the elements of menace and fraudulence that were also part of Nixon's temperament."— The New YorkerThe New Yorker: History in the Making (December 8, 2008)

• Note: The majority of the links in this timeline are to IMDb, which has pop-ups.

• 1954: Born

• 1960-1968: The Andy Griffith Show

• 1973: American Graffiti

• 1974-1984: Happy Days

• 1984: Splash

• 1985: Cocoon

• 1988: Willow

• 1991: Backdraft

• 1995: Apollo 13

• 2001: A Beautiful Mind

• 2003-2006: Arrested Development

• 2006: The Da Vinci Code

• 2008: Frost/Nixon

• 2009: Angels & Demons