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Bryce Dallas Howard Admits She’s Never Watched ‘Happy Days’ Despite Family Ties

Originally posted on TV Insider | Last updated Jul 3, 2025 12:14 PM ET

Bryce Dallas Howard has a surprising confession: She’s never watched a single episode of Happy Days, even though it stars her father, Ron Howard, and her godfather, Henry Winkler.

The Jurassic World actress came out with the shocking revelation when appearing on Busy Philipps‘ QVC+ talk show, Busy This Week, on Wednesday, July 2. “OK, I’m gonna admit something, which is that I’ve never watched an episode of Happy Days,” she said.

Philipps gasped in shock, shouting, “What?! Wait, I’m sorry. What?!”

Bryce continued, saying, “So I am kind of like the prototype here of like the child who takes for granted the fact that… I know,” she interrupted herself as Philipps continued to look on open-mouthed.

Philipps said she couldn’t believe it, especially as the classic sitcom not only stars Bryce’s dad but also Winkler, her godfather.

“I love [Winkler] so much and I love my dad so much and I love all the Happy Days folks and it would be so easy just to watch it and I don’t know why I haven’t,” Bryce added.

Philipps noted how it almost seems “impossible” for Bryce to never have caught an episode of the hit sitcom. Happy Days originally aired on ABC from 1974 to 1984, with a total of 255 episodes across 11 seasons. However, the show continues to air reruns in syndication to this day.

“I would come home from school and turn on the TV and Happy Days was on,” Philipps recalled. “Like reruns, you know, syndicated after school time, like 4 pm.”

“Yeah, Nick at Nite,” Bryce replied before adding she preferred watching Get Smart.

When the Freaks and Geeks alum asked Bryce if Ron and Winkler know she hasn’t seen an episode, she responded, “Yeah, kind of…. I think,” before admitting they don’t exactly ask her about it.

The Jurassic World Dominion star also revealed she doesn’t think her siblings have seen the show either. However, she did say she enjoys watching The Andy Griffith Show, in which her dad starred as Opie Taylor, joining the show when he was just 6.

“It’s really cute and really sweet,” Bryce stated. “I mean, it’s weird because my son [Theodore, 18] is now older than my dad was when he was starting Happy Days.”

Ron played Richie Cunningham on Happy Days, the polite, “buttoned-down” boy opposite Winkler’s tough-talking “greaser” Arthur “Fonzie” Fonzarelli. He left the show just before the eighth season to become a film director, going on to direct many award-winning features, including Cocoon, Apollo 13, A Beautiful Mind, Frost/Nixon, and more.

This article first appeared on TV Insider and was syndicated with permission.

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