Bryce Dallas Howard Calls Henry Winkler and His Wife Stacey the 'Most Incredible' Godparents

03/19/2025 03:16 PM

Bryce's dad Ron Howard became lifelong friends with Henry when they starred on 'Happy Days'

It's a very special bond.

Bryce Dallas Howard appeared alongside her dad Ron Howard and godfather Henry Winkler on the March 19 episode of Zoe Winkler's podcast What in the Winkler?!.The quartet spoke about their families' bond over the years, which began when Ron, 71, and Henry, 79, starred together onHappy Days as Richie Cunningham and Arthur Fonzarelli, respectively, in the '70s and '80s.

Ron and his wife Cheryl ultimately decided to make Henry and his wife Stacey Weitzman Bryce's godparents, creating a lifelong bond between the families. 

Bryce, 44, said on the podcast, "Henry and Stacey have always been the most incredible godparents, very supportive." The actress said they are "everything wonderful that my parents are, and everything wonderful that my parents aren't. Like, there's candy everywhere in the house. And, like, Zoe, you were allowed to experience nice things, like getting nice haircuts and you were always so cool, and everyone had such great style all the time, and my family suffered a little bit in that department."

Zoe, 45, joked, "I was way, way, way, way, way faster than Bryce," and Bryce added, "I definitely had a little bit of arrested development," perhaps in a nod to one of her dad's famous roles.

Henry remembered one time he gave Bryce a pep talk when she had just met her now-husband Seth Gabel when they were both acting students at New York University in the 2000s. "And you said, 'I know this guy, and I don't know how to get him to pay attention to me. How do I get him to pay attention to me?' " the Emmy winner said. "I said, Bryce, all you have to do is breathe. You're beautiful. You're talented. You're strong." But Bryce was still anxious (until she won Gabel over).

Ron and Cheryl raised Bryce and her siblings — Paige, Jocelyn and Reed — in Connecticut, hoping to keep their kids away from the "business," which could be smothering. But Bryce still found that she wanted to follow in her dad's footsteps.

Bryce said that the Winklers and her grandparents, who all lived in Los Angeles, became her main association with the city. "So it was just, family, family, family, family," she said about the draw to the industry. "That's a privilege," the Pets director added.

Related: Henry Winkler Reveals the 1 Item He Took from the Happy Days Set — and How It Honors His and Ron Howard's Daughters

"It was just so extraordinary for me getting to have another set of parents, have another set of siblings that I so related to, felt so safe with in Hollywood, the place my parents left," Bryce said. 

Later in the podcast, Zoe asks Henry why she doesn't have a godfather. "You don't have a godfather?" Henry joked. 

"Is that because we're Jewish?" she wondered. Henry answered, "I have no idea. That might have been an oversight."

Bryce said that she always thought her family filled the role for the Winklers. "I think the assumption was, Zoe, that if your parents peace out, then we would do the same for you guys," she said. 

In a sweet post in September 2023, Bryce shared photos of her godfather and godsister Zoe. "I love my family," she wrote in the caption. She wrote of Zoe — a fellow redhead, "The two are as close as can be — in proximity, friendship, and hair type."