Ron Howard has worked with plenty of A-list actors over the years, though he revealed that Tom Hanks does the best impression of him.
“I think it started on a [David] Letterman appearance,” Howard, 71, told People of Hanks’ impression of him in an interview published on Wednesday, August 27. “And somehow Tom just launched into this impression of me. Now, I get kind of excited on a set, and I don’t always finish my sentences completely. I’m pretty energized and I talk with my hands.”
He went on to share that Hanks, 69, does an “accurate impression” of the former child star. “But it’s me saying, ‘Alright now. Okay, that’s good. Alright, that’s good. But now the next time you try it, how about if you were upside down? What if we just flipped it?’” Howard explained.
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“He goes a little broader than that,” Howard continued of Hanks’ impression. ”Kind of a heightened version of me. He goes even crazier. But now sometimes I find that when I’m even directing Tom, I wind up doing his version of me directing him, instead of just being me. I don’t know what that’s all about.”
When it comes to Hanks’ technique for impressions of Howard, his secret is to go, “Repeat ‘Okay! Okay! That’s good! That’s good .…’”
Hanks has spent plenty of time with Howard in order to perfect his impression. After all, the duo has worked on the moviesSplash, The Da Vinci Code, Apollo 13, Angels & Demons and Inferno together.
Howard shared a glimpse into his friendship with Hanks after he revealed that an iconic character from their 1984 movie Splashalmost didn’t make it into the final product.
“When we were trying to sell Splash, [producer] Brian Grazer and I, we were going to every studio, they were all turning us down, and one said, ‘Does it really have to be a mermaid?’” he recalled to Entertainment Weekly in an August 21 interview.
Howard added, “We didn’t go with that company. We decided, yeah, it really should be a mermaid.”
Hanks starred in the film as Allen Bauer, while Daryl Hannah played mermaid Madison. The movie was a commercial success, while it was also nominated for an Academy Award for best original screenplay.
This story was originally reported by Parade on Aug 27, 2025, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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