Ron Howard Shares Why Wife Cheryl Isn't Impressed by Daughter Bryce Dallas' Ability to Cry on Command

Ron Howard has always been impressed by daughter Bryce Dallas Howard's acting ability — but his wife, Cheryl, saw where the sausage got made.

During an appearance on the latest episode of Conan O'Brien's podcast, Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend, to promote the documentary Jim Henson Idea Man, Ron, 70, recalled the time he and Cheryl first saw their daughter, Bryce Dallas, 43, perform on Broadway in a 2003 production Tartuffe.

While Ron and O'Brien discussed Bryce's ability to cry on command, the filmmaker recalled that his daughter was sick when she made her Broadway debut in the 17th-century French play and fought through a fever in order to perform.

"And so here she is in this theater opening night, she is sick, she has a fever. Cheryl and I had to get her to the theater, and we weren't sure she was gonna be able to even do the show," Ron said. "But, of course, it's opening night, so she's doing it."

As the filmmaker recalled, he felt watching Bryce Dallas perform and cry on stage on Broadway "was just, like, an unbelievable moment for me coming from a theatrical family and all that." But he also remembered noticing Cheryl did not seem as moved by their daughter's performance.

"Cheryl's just kinda sitting with her arms crossed, kind of with a little smile on her face. No emotion whatsoever," he said. "So we get to intermission, and I said, 'Babe, weren't you knocked out by that moment? I mean, you know, there she is. She's got a fever. It's opening night. She's crying real tears on Broadway.' "

"And she said, 'Are you kidding me? She did that every day of her life when she was 17,' " Ron recalled Cheryl saying.

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Ron's anecdote came after he and O'Brien, 61, discussed a memorable 2015 moment on the host's former TBS late night series, Conan, in which Bryce displayed her ability to cry on command.

"She said, 'I'm going to cry on demand on Conan's show.' And I said, 'Oh come on Bryce,' and I've seen her do it. She can cry on command. And I said, 'But it's a live show.' And she said, 'No, I'm going to do it,' " Ron recalled.

"And so then she told me it worked — so I know that, and yet, when I watched her on the show doing it I was [on] the edge of my seat still," he said of the moment. "And when the tear finally rolled down — it may have well been a Super Bowl touchdown."

In addition to Bryce Dallas, Ron and Cheryl share three other children: twins Jocelyn Carlyle and Paige Carlyle, 39, and son Reed Cross, 37. The couple met in high school and married in 1975.