Bryce Dallas Howard talks directing 'Dads' doc, how there's no 'rite of passage' to fatherhood
When it comes to father-daughter duos in Hollywood, few are closer than Bryce Dallas Howard and her dad, Ron Howard.
So it shouldn't come as a surprise that she set out to make a film -- her feature directorial debut -- that had their relationship at its core. The result is "Dads," a new documentary available on Apple TV+ this Friday, in which the "Jurassic World" actress talks to six fathers from across the globe -- as well as a few celebrity dads, too.
In addition to interviewing her own dad, the doc also features chats with her late grandfather, Rance, before he died in 2017, and her only brother, Reed.
Howard told "Good Morning America" Tuesday that she realized something surprising about fatherhood after observing Reed -- who, at the time, was expecting daughter Aspen with his wife Ashley.
She recalled shooting her sister-in-law's baby shower and realizing her dad and brother were nowhere in sight -- even though she knew they were in the house. Someone suggested they were in the basement, so she went downstairs.
"I was filming them there and I realized that men have no rite of passage when they become fathers," the "The Help" actress explained. "Here we are upstairs hearing the screams of countless women supporting Ashley in this adventure she was about to start, and yet my brother was downstairs with my dad just sort of, like, you know, hiding."
Howard called spending time in the basement that day and watching her dad give her brother advice on fatherhood was an "incredible experience."
"That's not something I think that we really see a lot," she added.
As for the "Happy Days" star -- who is a producer on the movie in addition to appearing in it -- he said he was moved to see fathers connect on a deeper level than society usually gives men credit for.
"They talk about work, they talk about sports, they talk about other things," Ron Howard said. "Sure, they mention the kids, but when you see the men talk about and understand what their emotional investment is in the job, you recognize first that we all have that in common."
He went on, "I mean, many of these guys wound up being very emotional and crying, you know, during the course of their interviews. It's powerful and it's unifying and I think that's what surprised me the most. It's just how much it can really matter."
"Dads" is available on Apple TV+ June 19.
