Occasionally billed as
Bryce Howard Dallas, this promising young talent is the daughter of director
Ron Howard and actress
Cheryl Howard. Rather than simply using her admittedly well-connected status to break into the acting world,
Howard opted to study the craft at New York University's prestigious Tisch School of the Arts, and would continue to act at the Stella Adler Conservatory. After landing roles in several off-Broadway productions,
Howard made her feature-film debut in director
Alan Brown's
"Book of Love" (2003), which premiered at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival as part of the drama competition. In 2004,
Howard broke into the mainstream with her performance in
M. Night Shyamalan's
The Village, which also features Hollywood heavy-hitters
William Hurt,
Adrien Brody, and
Joaquin Phoenix, among others. For
Lars von Trier's
"Manderlay",
Howard took over the role of Grace first played by
Nicole Kidman in
"Dogville". In 2006 she reteamed with
Shyamalan playing the title character in
"The Lady in the Water". That same year she was cast alongside
Kevin Kline and
Alfred Molina in
Kenneth Branagh's adaptation of
Shakespeare's
"As You Like It". She then scored the plum role of Peter Parker's love interest Gwen Stacy in
Sam Raimi's
"Spider-Man 3". Howard would henceforth remain a consistent presence on screen, appearing in films like Terminator Salvation, The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, The Help, and 50/50. ~ Tracie Cooper, Rovi