Ron Howard said he felt intimidated and frightened when he was hired to direct Cocoon in 1985, despite early successes with Night Shift and Splash. The role marked a turning point because it made him realise he might have a sustained directing career, while also exposing his uncertainty about whether he could maintain it.

Howard had begun as an actor and said he initially knew little about work behind the camera, with Grand Theft Auto, Night Shift and Splash helping him develop as a director. He described having an appetite for large-scale Hollywood films, but recalled fearing that he could continue directing only until he “screwed it up”; the article argues that this self-awareness ultimately strengthened his career.