Welcome to the HBR idea cast from Harvard Business Review. I'm Allison Beard.

First, he won our hearts as a child and teen actor playing the beloved TV character's

Opie Taylor and Richie Cunningham. Then, he started directing hit and critically acclaimed

movies from Splash and Cocoon to Apollo 13 and a beautiful mind. Yes, my guest today

is actor, director, producer and Academy Award winner, Ron Howard. Often working with his

long-time imagined entertainment partner, Brian Graser, and the industry's top talent

as well as its up-and-comers, Howard has produced more than 120 films and shows, and he's

directed or acted in more than 130, all while maintaining reputation for being one of

the nicest guys in Hollywood. His latest directorial effort, 13 Lives, is streaming

on Amazon now, and I spoke to him at the Masters of Scale Summit this fall, just before he

went on stage to talk about the impact he wants his films to have on the world, whether

it's destigmatizing mental illness or celebrating cooperation and volunteerism. Here's an

edited version of our conversation.

Your parents were in the acting business. Did you always think that you would follow

in their footsteps? Well, before I ever thought about it, I was actually involved. At age

two, they were doing summer stock, and if they needed a baby for a play, I'd be the baby.

But by the time I was four, I was acting, and I, of course, I didn't have anything to

say about it, particularly, other than they recognized that I enjoyed it. It was a positive

experience for me, and that is my earliest recollections, are having a lot of fun. My dad realized

I had an aptitude for it, and was a naturally gifted teacher. He really began to teach

me not to perform, but to actually understand what the scenes were about. So we got in

the old Plymouth and drove to Los Angeles, and he got me with his agent, and basically

...