10 Hollywood Career Paths Nobody Saw Coming

3. Ron Howard - From TV Actor To Oscar-Winning Director

Ron Howard first became known to audiences as young Opie Taylor on The Andy Griffith show, and then followed this up with a memorable performance in George Lucas' American Grafitti, before taking on his most iconic role, as Richie Cunningham in Happy Days from 1974 to 1980. At this point, Howard left the show to pursue a directing career, which had first been fostered with his debut 1977 smash Grand Theft Auto, and continued with solid efforts like Splash, Cocoon, and Willow, until he graduated to the big leagues with the highly acclaimed Apollo 13 in 1995. 2001 saw Howard win Best Director and Best Picture Oscar for A Beautiful Mind, and he was again nominated for both in 2009 for Frost/Nixon. While Howard has had his misses like any director, the immense popularity of his Dan Brown adaptations - The Da Vinci Code and Angels & Demons - best demonstrates how he has gone from a child actor to a helmer of high-budget, lucrative franchise fare.