The Underdog of Underdogs
It’s hard for anyone to be cast in the shadows of a sibling who seems to garner more success in almost all aspects. The same may very well go for actor Clint Howard. Compared to his brother, acclaimed director and actor Ron Howard, Clint may look like to be on the bitter end as hereditary genes go, but, as he has proven over the years, it’s something that hasn’t stopped him from achieving a well-known and loved status of his own.
Born in April 20, 1959 in Burbank, California, Clinton E. Howard became a child star at the age of three, his debut film being The Courtship of Eddie’s Father. Clint never left Hollywood since.
At first glance, Clint may not posses much as physical features are concerned. He has a huge round head, big crooked teeth, thick gums, and chilling eyes that seemed to only have a place in horror movies, unlike his brother Ron, whose boy-next-door looks appear to come from the other end of the gene pool. However, being an apparent outcast in Hollywood wasn’t enough to discourage Clint to be recognized and respected as both a director and actor.
Over his lengthy career in Hollywood, Clint has starred in countless blockbuster movies. Even if most of his roles were minor ones, Clint has had the chance to work with dozens of Important Hollywood actors and actresses from past and present, as well star in each and every one of Ron Howard’s films. His filmography would be too long to incorporate in this article.
But what could be behind Clint’s success? One may see it as a product of his unrelenting passion. While talking about doing transient roles in horror movies Clint had this to say: “I do not attempt to orchestrate my career. I let God do that. I like horror movies. To me, they are a very legitimate place for an actor to work. It’s a great arena for me to experiment, to play a range of different funky characters. I like what I’m doing and I hope it shows on the screen. Acting is a great gig. It pays well, I get to meet some nice people and it allows me to play a lot of golf. I’m a real lucky guy.” Clint also had this to say when it came to hard work: “People don’t realize that doing a horror movie is hard work. You’re out there all day screaming your lungs out, breathing in toxic make-up fumes, rolling around in the dirt, getting your eyebrows burned off - it’s not like doing a sitcom.”
Aside from Clint’s personal drives, one should also consider how Clint’s audiences have grown to give him support. In 1998 Clint received the MTV Movie Awards Lifetime Achievement Award. According to John Norris of MTV, it was due to Clint being awarded that eventually “legitimized the category”, whereas before the Award was merely surrounded by ridicule. It’s a pleasant thought that Clint’s “inadequate” features may just be the very thing which helped him develop a following. Audiences and critics alike, at the time, may have been looking for something new aside from the Alpha male actor with dashingly good looks. They may have found an underdog story behind Clint’s success, by the manner in which he triumphed over the enormous odds stacked against him.
Indeed, Clint Howard has come a long way, and he has done it with traits that others might consider he lacked. In other words, by his pure talent alone. It is this dedication to his work that has earned the respect and acknowledgment of audiences the world over.
