Ron Howard's Hollywood career, which has spanned decades and produced films such as Apollo 13, How the Grinch Stole Christmas and Solo: A Star Wars Story, can be traced back to an unlikely early boost from future US President Ronald Reagan. Howard had been acting since infancy, but at the age of four, while appearing in a 1959 pilot episode called Barnaby and Mr O'Mally, he had not initially received on-screen credit for his role. Reagan, then hosting the anthology series General Electric Theater, felt this was unjust and personally intervened to ensure Howard was recognised.

Reagan ad-libbed a closing line thanking "little Ronny Howard" for playing Barnaby, giving the young actor public recognition that Howard has since said led directly to his casting as Opie Taylor, first in The Danny Thomas Show and then in The Andy Griffith Show, where he appeared in 243 episodes. That success paved the way for further work, including the sitcom Happy Days, and ultimately his transition into directing, which began with 1977's Grand Theft Auto and went on to include major Hollywood productions.