Bryce Dallas Howard and Ron Howard attend the 2020 Vanity Fair Oscar Party.Photo:Daniele Venturelli/WireImage
Daniele Venturelli/WireImage
SometimesBryce Dallas Howard’s life feels straight out of a movie — and it’s one her dad directed.
The eldest daughter of famed directorRon Howardtells PEOPLE that the holidays with the extended Howard family, which now includes six grandkids, “feels exactly likeParenthood,” the 1989 classicSteve Martinfilm her dad directed. “I mean exactly,” Bryce, 42, says.
“It’s less dysfunctional in terms of all the adults, but just in terms of the chaos and the love and little tense moments and then reconciling," the upcoming star ofArgylleadds.
This year, the “entire family is trekking out” to Australia, says Bryce, where Ron, 69, is shooting a movie, so they can all celebrate together. “It’s going to be beautiful and warm and all of that, but we do a lot of cookie making and stuff,” she tells PEOPLE.
BetweenBryce and her three siblings— twins Jocelyn Carlyle andPaige Carlyle, 38, and Reed Cross, 36 — and their own families, it’s “very, very, very grandkids centric,” theJurassic Worldstar adds.
The actress-turned-director was seven when her dad was makingParenthood— which also starredKeanu Reeves,Joaquin PhoenixandMary Steenburgen— and it was the “first time I was allowed to officially be an extra” on a set. “And it was amazing,” she says, revealing that she’s featured in a couple scenes, including the chaotic sequence at the school play where Martin’s overwhelmed character feels like he’s on a roller coaster.
“At the end of everything, it is about just this celebration of the madness and wonder that is being a part of a large family,” Bryce says of the film.
Ron Howard and Bryce Dallas Howard at a benefit screening of “Broken Memories” in 2017.David Livingston/Getty
Parenthoodisn’t the only film that Bryce has on her mind this time of year. Her father also directed the 2000 live-actionJim Carreycomedy,How the Grinch Stole Christmas, but she says it’s not one that the family ever really watches themselves.
“It really is one of those things where we all feel a little shy about our work,” she admits. “And so it’s just not typical that we watch our own stuff or stuff that our loved ones have done. It’s a very, very, very weird thing.”
The Grinchwas one of her father’s films she was around “the least” because she was “just starting college” at New York University. But she does remember the “impressive” and elaborate backdrops of Whoville on the Universal lot.
“I just remember being in awe of that,” recalls Bryce, who was an extra in the background of one of the Whoville scenes. And the actress remembers the experience of “getting on the prosthetics and getting transformed into a Who” fondly. “I did it with my sister and my mom and my best friend. So it was really silly and ridiculous,” she says now.
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
This year, Bryce got into the holiday spirit directingThe Note, a Christmas short for Coca-Cola starring Colm Meaney. The star, who also recently helmed three episodes of the Disney+ seriesThe Mandalorian, says like her father, who rose to fame onHappy Days, she loves acting and being behind the camera.
“I love directing and it’s as important to me as acting and it’s always been happening in the background,” she says. “I hope it’s something where I’m lucky enough to do both…in every decade of my life.”
source: people.com
