Ron Howard had a unique bonding experience with John Wayne while filming what would be the icon’s final film.
HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 23: Ron Howard attends the Music by John Williams AFI Fest Opening Night Premiere at TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, California on October 23, 2024. (Photo by Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Disney)
Howard starred with Wayne in 1976’s “The Shootist,” directed by Don Siegel, who also directed classics like “Dirty Harry” and “Escape from Alcatraz.”
With a stacked cast and crew, Howard admitted that tensions were high as Siegel and Wayne butted heads over process.
“I also learned a lot in a rather uncomfortable way, because Wayne and Siegel were feuding. They did not get along. And I was getting along with both of them separately, just fine,” Howard told Ben Mankiewicz’s “Talking Pictures” podcast.
Howard was picking up directing tips from Siegel on set as he was studying to become a director at the USC Cinema School.
John Wayne and Ron Howard in scene in ‘The Shootist’ 1976. (Photo by Screen Archives/Getty Images)
The “Happy Days” star said Wayne liked his “professionalism,” which gave Howard the confidence to approach the Western icon directly.
“And I also had the guts to say, ‘Hey, do you want to run lines?’ No one really would talk to him in between setups,” Howard said. “He had a couple of people: a guy he would play chess with, who was the still photographer who had worked with him on a lot of films. But it was a very closed little bubble that he was operating in.”
He added, “He was perfectly friendly to me, and he said, ‘Yeah, I’d like to run lines.’ And we had a lot of scenes together, heavy dialogue, and it was very interesting to see him take a scene and shape it into a John Wayne performance in the most positive ways.”
The Shootist, lobbycard, John Wayne, Ron Howard, 1976. (Photo by LMPC via Getty Images)
However, Howard was privy to Wayne’s dislike for Siegel and vice versa, teaching the future Oscar-winning director a valuable lesson in set management.
“I felt that the key was that a lot of things were allowed to fester for a long period of time. The strategy that I’ve followed over the years is when there’s a difference of opinion, go right into it. You don’t have to make it a fight, but you’re there to achieve something together and talk it through,” he said. “Don’t let it become something that’s petty and emotional when, in fact, it’s a creative concern or a neurotic concern. And if you shine a bright light on a neurotic concern, most people, even the most neurotic of them, say, ‘Oh yeah, I guess I was a little insecure about that.’”
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