Ron Howard Almost Made Porn Based On His Andy Griffith Character, Here’s The Scandalous Plot
Ron Howard wanted to star in a porn, Opie Gets Laid, in order to fund his directorial debut.
Ron Howard made the difficult transition from child star on The Andy Griffith Show to teenage star on Happy Days and, finally, an award-winning director held in the same esteem as Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, and Ridley Scott. On In Depth with Graham Bensinger, Howard was asked point blank if there was “any truth to Opie Gets Laid?” After pausing to laugh at the fantastic question we’re glad was asked, the Academy Award-winning director of A Beautiful Mind, the man that directed Tom Hanks in Apollo 13, and Fonzie’s best friend, Ron Howard, admitted that yes, he seriously thought about making porn based on his first character.
After starring in Happy Days for eight seasons, Ron Howard wanted out from in front of the camera to behind the camera, where he felt the most comfortable, and porn was a way out. In order to make the jump, Howard thought about making Opie Gets Laid, using the name of his The Andy Griffith Show character. In 2005, perhaps going off of the long-standing rumor about the potential porno, James Ricardo made a movie with the same name that he starred in and directed himself.
James Ricardo is no Ron Howard, and instead of being a long-forgotten sex comedy, Opie Gets Laid starring Opie, would have, in the words of Clint Howard, “made Ron a million dollars.” Bryce Dallas Howard, star of Spider-Man 3, Lady in the Water, and the Jurassic World trilogy, added, “A lot of times in life, I’ll think about the fact that my dad has a public profile that isn’t embarrassing. It’s massive, and if he had done Opie Gets Laid, I just … I wouldn’t be in this business.”
Even though Ron Howard contemplated making a porn movie for only a few seconds, a long-standing Hollywood rumor has been proven. Opie Gets Laid would have made enough money for the director to pursue his dream of directing movies, but his career would forever have the stain of how it got started. Then again, another director did make that exact choice to start their career, and things worked out well for Wes Craven.
The legendary horror director behind Nightmare on Elm Street and Scream, made an adult film, The Fireworks Woman, after his debut with The Last House on the Left. Filled with the unsettling imagery that marks his best films, the circus-themed porno didn’t stop Craven from becoming a legend in entertainment. Opie Gets Laid would have likely involved less nightmarish images and bizarre dream states, but it could have done for Ron Howard what The Fireworks Woman did for Craven, and eventually, he’d have overcome the stigma of making porn.
Ron Howard has been busy since leaving Happy Days, even if he isn’t making porn, with 12 upcoming projects (via IMDb). The most exciting of the projects is a documentary about John Williams, the legendary composer responsible for the amazing soundtracks to Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and Jurassic Park. While Howard may have never gone through with the fleeting thought of becoming an adult film star, his career has turned out pretty well, with multiple Oscars and Golden Globes to his name.
