Ron Howard’s Unfinished Business With Michael Keaton
Ron Howard has opened up about his lingering regret over not teaming up again with Michael Keaton, despite a career packed with big names. He’s keen to change that in the future.
It’s a bit odd when a director says there’s an actor they’d love to work with again, but somehow it just hasn’t happened. For Ron Howard, who’s got plenty of pull in the industry, there’s one bloke he keeps missing out on. While there’s no chance Bill Murray will ever show up in one of his films—given the long-standing bad blood between them—there’s another star Howard genuinely wishes he could bring back into the fold.
Howard’s been around the traps for ages, racking up a wild mix of collaborators. Not many can say they’ve shared a set with the likes of John Wayne, Sydney Sweeney, Bette Davis, Kevin James, Henry Fonda, Warwick Davis, George Lucas, and Donnie Wahlberg. He’s also worked with family—his brother Clint, his dad Rance, and his mum Jean—plus regulars like Tom Hanks, Russell Crowe, Ed Harris, Val Kilmer, Jennifer Connelly, and Chris Hemsworth. But there’s one name that stands out as unfinished business.
Michael Keaton: The One That Got Away
For a while, it looked like Michael Keaton and Howard might become a regular team. Keaton first popped up in Night Shift, playing second fiddle to Henry Winkler. He then scored top billing in Gung Ho and The Paper, landing prime spots in two of Howard’s first handful of features. Three films together in quick succession, and then—nothing. Their paths just stopped crossing.
At a recent ceremony for his second star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Howard admitted this gap has been bugging him.
“I’ve been so lucky in this business, I’ve worked with so many great people,”
he said.
“I have so few regrets, practically none of them.”
But then he let slip the one that’s stuck with him:
“One of them is just only that it’s been far too long since Michael and I made a film together. So I’m hoping to rectify that sooner rather than later.”
Plenty of Chances, No Reunion Yet
It’s not like Howard hasn’t had the chance. He’s directed 18 films since The Paper, and Keaton’s still been around—though he did take a break by choice. Surely there’s been a role or two Keaton could’ve slotted into, but for whatever reason, it just hasn’t lined up. Howard’s suggestion that it’s always been just out of reach seems a bit odd, considering both are well-established and still working flat out.
With neither showing signs of slowing down, it feels like only a matter of time before Howard picks up the phone and sorts it out. All it would take is a call, and that lingering regret could finally be put to bed.