Ron Howard Dreamed of Directing While on ‘The Andy Griffith Show’

While promoting his new film Inferno, his third film in the Robert Langdon series, Ron Howard chatted with BackstageOL’s Dave Morales about making the film as well as one of his most iconic roles: the role of Opie Taylor on The Andy Griffith Show in the 1960s.

Howard revealed that he has “spectacular memories” from working on the Andy Griffith Show as well as how that experience has affected his career today.

“I learned so much,” he said. “Even before I knew I wanted to be a director, and I did begin dreaming of directing while I was on the show ‘cause so many of our directors had been actors, and I could see how much joy they were getting out of that transition to telling the whole story. But you know what, it’s the environment, it’s the creative environment. Serious problem solving all the time, but a sense of joy about that, a lot of laughter, along with the hard work. It’s that balance, that equilibrium that Andy kind of established and that I’ve tried to carry with me throughout my career.”

Inferno hits theaters this Friday and stars Tom Hanks, Felicity Jones, Omar Sy, Sidse Babett Knudsen, Ben Foster and Irrfan Khan.

Watch our interview with Howard below: