LOS ANGELES - Bryce Dallas Howard, the daughter of famous director Ron Howard, knows all about the Tinseltown pressure of great expectations.
Luckily for Howard, she also grew up with her father's lessons in how to avoid pleasing others at the expense of satisfying herself.
But even she admits to having anxious moments when she abruptly replaced Montreal actress Rachelle Lefevre in the role of Victoria for The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, which opened with an impressive five-day worldwide box-office total of more than $261 million US.
As far as the Twilight producers were concerned, Howard was a saviour for rushing to the Vancouver set late last summer, just a few weeks after Lefevre reported that she had a scheduling conflict.
"I was really nervous, and I still am," said the 29-year-old at a Beverly Hills Hotel. "I don't think I will ever feel 100 per cent comfortable about it (replacing Lefevre). I don't know all the details, but it was an unfortunate situation."
In fact, Howard had been offered the Twilight part of Victoria originally, but had declined. And that's not because Howard underestimated the film impact of the Twilight series, which has sold millions of books for author Stephenie Meyer (while the movie versions of Twilight and New Moon went on to earn more than $1.1 billion).
"I was a big supporter of the books, and my friends always made fun of me," Howard said, smiling. As a fan, the actress appreciated that Victoria has a small but pivotal part in Eclipse, the book and the film.
That's because vampire Victoria (Howard) resurfaces with a murderous band of "new blood" vampires manipulated into eliminating Bella (Kristen Stewart) as revenge for the death of Victoria's mate, James.
So, despite arriving on the Eclipse set at the last minute, Howard insists all went well.
Indeed, a few weeks into the shoot, an impressed Howard told her Oscar-winning (A Beautiful Mind) director dad by phone about the on-set Eclipse atmosphere. He suggested that the friendliness on Eclipse sounded just like American Graffiti, the classic 1973 George Lucas movie in which Ron Howard co-starred.
"It's kind of a miraculous thing when a cast gets along as well as this one does," she said of the Eclipse actors. "I've heard so many stories from my dad on how well they got along on American Graffiti, and how much he totally loved everybody who was part of that process, and Eclipse seemed to be the same."
Born and raised in Greenwich, Conn., Howard didn't get serious about acting until she enrolled in New York University's Tisch School of the Arts while also attending the Stella Adler Conservatory.
After performing in a series of New York productions - some wildly experimental - Howard's profile rose when she co-starred in M. Night Shyamalan's The Village. She subsequently appeared in Lars von Trier's Manderlay and reunited with Shyamalan as the headliner in his 2006 fantasy thriller, Lady in the Water.
The following year, she played Peter Parker's love interest in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 3. In February of 2007, she had a son Theo with husband Seth Gabel, taking a break from acting in the process.
But she's back in the mix. Besides Eclipse, she's co-starring with Matt Damon in Clint Eastwood's much-anticipated supernatural thriller, Hereafter, which is set for a fall release.
Typically, the actress can't say much about the film. "I guess what is OK to say is that multiple storylines intertwine, as mine does with Matt Damon's."
What Howard will expand on is Eastwood's reputation for filming scenes efficiently and moving quickly to the next task at hand.
"He's quick, all right, but he is truly masterful at what he does," she said. "He knows exactly what he has to get from his actors and he knows when he has it."
Next up for Howard is her co-headlining role in The Help, the Tate Taylor film version of the bestselling Kathryn Stockett novel about the impact of black maids on white 1960s Mississippi households. It's yet another high-profile project.
"I feel lucky every time I get a role," Howard said. "I always expect that there is no more work, so I will take what I get and be thankful."
Luckily for Howard, she also grew up with her father's lessons in how to avoid pleasing others at the expense of satisfying herself.
But even she admits to having anxious moments when she abruptly replaced Montreal actress Rachelle Lefevre in the role of Victoria for The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, which opened with an impressive five-day worldwide box-office total of more than $261 million US.
As far as the Twilight producers were concerned, Howard was a saviour for rushing to the Vancouver set late last summer, just a few weeks after Lefevre reported that she had a scheduling conflict.
"I was really nervous, and I still am," said the 29-year-old at a Beverly Hills Hotel. "I don't think I will ever feel 100 per cent comfortable about it (replacing Lefevre). I don't know all the details, but it was an unfortunate situation."
In fact, Howard had been offered the Twilight part of Victoria originally, but had declined. And that's not because Howard underestimated the film impact of the Twilight series, which has sold millions of books for author Stephenie Meyer (while the movie versions of Twilight and New Moon went on to earn more than $1.1 billion).
"I was a big supporter of the books, and my friends always made fun of me," Howard said, smiling. As a fan, the actress appreciated that Victoria has a small but pivotal part in Eclipse, the book and the film.
That's because vampire Victoria (Howard) resurfaces with a murderous band of "new blood" vampires manipulated into eliminating Bella (Kristen Stewart) as revenge for the death of Victoria's mate, James.
So, despite arriving on the Eclipse set at the last minute, Howard insists all went well.
Indeed, a few weeks into the shoot, an impressed Howard told her Oscar-winning (A Beautiful Mind) director dad by phone about the on-set Eclipse atmosphere. He suggested that the friendliness on Eclipse sounded just like American Graffiti, the classic 1973 George Lucas movie in which Ron Howard co-starred.
"It's kind of a miraculous thing when a cast gets along as well as this one does," she said of the Eclipse actors. "I've heard so many stories from my dad on how well they got along on American Graffiti, and how much he totally loved everybody who was part of that process, and Eclipse seemed to be the same."
Born and raised in Greenwich, Conn., Howard didn't get serious about acting until she enrolled in New York University's Tisch School of the Arts while also attending the Stella Adler Conservatory.
After performing in a series of New York productions - some wildly experimental - Howard's profile rose when she co-starred in M. Night Shyamalan's The Village. She subsequently appeared in Lars von Trier's Manderlay and reunited with Shyamalan as the headliner in his 2006 fantasy thriller, Lady in the Water.
The following year, she played Peter Parker's love interest in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 3. In February of 2007, she had a son Theo with husband Seth Gabel, taking a break from acting in the process.
But she's back in the mix. Besides Eclipse, she's co-starring with Matt Damon in Clint Eastwood's much-anticipated supernatural thriller, Hereafter, which is set for a fall release.
Typically, the actress can't say much about the film. "I guess what is OK to say is that multiple storylines intertwine, as mine does with Matt Damon's."
What Howard will expand on is Eastwood's reputation for filming scenes efficiently and moving quickly to the next task at hand.
"He's quick, all right, but he is truly masterful at what he does," she said. "He knows exactly what he has to get from his actors and he knows when he has it."
Next up for Howard is her co-headlining role in The Help, the Tate Taylor film version of the bestselling Kathryn Stockett novel about the impact of black maids on white 1960s Mississippi households. It's yet another high-profile project.
"I feel lucky every time I get a role," Howard said. "I always expect that there is no more work, so I will take what I get and be thankful."
Source~Robstenfan
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