Bryce Dallas Howard DGA speech honors Ron Howard

During the Directors Guild of America Honors Gala, Bryce Dallas Howard came out on stage to introduce her father, director Ron Howard. What ensued was a touching tribute that’ll make you want to call your dad.

“My dad is the most sensitive, patient, and inclusive father on planet Earth,” she began. “I literally have no ammunition for a tell-all. Nothing. He included me in everything. Every day of my childhood felt like Bring Your Daughter to Work Day. Ever since I was 7 years old, I was given odd jobs on my dad’s movie sets. Tiny things that made me feel like I was part of the filmmaking process without of course becoming too much of a liability considering I was a minor with far too many opinions for my own good. But the real fun was that I got to ride every day to and from set with my dad, and he would share the challenges and the wins of the day. He would think out loud as he scribbled the shot list on the back of an imagined buck slip. And best of all, I got to sit beside him as we watched dailies together. Every single day. My father was my hero, and he still is.”

Howard then remembered her experience with Apollo 13, how she got her first walkie-talkie at 13 while working as a PA on the film, and at 14 seeing audiences lining up out the theater doors to see it. “There is nothing like the rush of seeing an audience love a film that you know your dad has poured his heart and soul into.”

She continued, “Well, the movie was nominated for nine Oscars, including Best Picture. My father was not. My how the emotional tides of a 14-year-old Bryce Dallas Howard can shift. I mean, f–k. My dad, on the other hand, was taking it like a champ. After all, as a filmmaker he’s always been kind of an underdog.”

While she went to school the next day with head hanging low, she perked back up when her dad received a DGA nomination and the awards ceremony was scheduled for her 15th birthday. “March 2, 1996, was truly the most kick-ass night of my life,” she said. “I want to sincerely thank the DGA for not only acknowledging my dad’s name, but for giving me the best 15th-birthday present a girl could hope for.”

You can read Howard’s full speech at Vulture.