Bryce Dallas Howard helps bring a 'Diamond' in the rough to life

Bryce Dallas Howard at the New York City premiere of "The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond"

People can say that it’s easier for children of famous entertainers to break into show business, but the flip side to that easier access to industry power players is that expectations are much higher when your parent is a hit maker who has won practically every major award in his or her field. But up-and-coming actress Bryce Dallas Howard is handling that kind of pressure beautifully. As the daughter of Oscar-winning filmmaker (and former actor) Ron Howard, Bryce Dallas has successfully achieved a balance of doing blockbuster movies ("Spider-Man 3," "Terminator Salvation" and "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse") and smaller, independent films — all with her acting talent usually getting high praise from critics.

One of her indie films is "The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond," based on a screenplay written by the late Tennessee Williams. In the movie, Bryce Dallas plays Fisher Willow, a rebellious Southern debutante in the 1920s who dreads having to go through traditions of attending high-society events. During a party in Memphis, Fisher loses a valuable teardrop-diamond earring, and her date/love interest Jimmy Dobyne (played by Chris Evans) is suspected of stealing the earring. I recently sat down with Bryce Dallas at the New York City press junket for "The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond," and she opened up about her "Teardrop Diamond" experience, her blockbuster films, and her first forays into screenwriting and film producing.

What was your first memory of Tennessee Williams?

I went to Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago, when I was really young — 11 or something — and I saw Gary Sinise playing Stanley Kowalski [in the Tennessee Williams play "A Streetcar Named Desire"]. It was profound. Williams is so alive. The text is so dangerous and sexual and intelligent. I have such distinct memories of seeing this production.

Bryce Dallas Howard in "The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond"

How would you describe Fisher Willow and how you approached this character?

She’s younger than a lot of the classic Tennessee Williams heroines. The way in which I thought of her was she’s a little like she’s Blanche DuBois, 15 years younger. The space and time when the movie ["The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond"] takes place is when she’s really struggling with her sanity. Either she’s going to survive and figure out a way to be happy and present herself in Southern society or she’s going to lose herself to her delusions and succumb to insanity. And I think that’s the struggle that’s present in the film, whereas Blanche DuBois is gone in her fantasy world. That was an interesting thing to study at least.

So it must’ve been great for you as an actress to walk that line.

It’s fun, because she’s entirely unapologetic. That’s something that actually kind of grounded me when I figured hat out: that she was unapologetic, almost to a hedonistic degree. So when she goes into a steam, it’s not like she’s back-and-forth; it’s almost like she’s a bulldozer. And then you see the repercussions of that. You see the consequences of a person in a world that is so delicate and so studied and so old-fashioned when someone comes in like a Mack Truck.

Bryce Dallas Howard in "The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond"

Were there any scenes that were difficult for you to shoot?

They were all quite fun. As an actor, the most difficult scenes to shoot are the ones where you just have a little bit of business and then you have to go — ones where you’re just blocking with props, because you can’t ground yourself in what’s happening and what your character’s objective is and what not. So the fact that there were so many scenes that were high-stakes emotionally, for me, it’s easier, because you’re protected by the language, you’re protected by circumstances, and you have something to play.

Also, Jodie [Markell, the director of "The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond"] is a masterful director. It’s amazing to me that this is her first film [that she’s directed]. It’s like she’s been doing it forever. She really understood this world and these characters incredibly well. Also, I was acting with Chris Evans and Ellen Burstyn and Ann-Margret. These are people who are really extraordinary actors, so I felt very, very safe in their presence.

Chris Evans and Bryce Dallas Howard in "The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond"

What was it like working with Chris Evans?

Chris is extraordinary. I remember one day, I looked through the monitor and it was on him, and I thought, "Oh my gosh! He looks like Paul Newman!" He has this presence that harkens back to old-fashioned leading men. His masculinity and earthiness, it really does remind me of Paul Newman in many ways. He’s fantastic. He comes from a theatrical background, so it was always acting for rehearsals, which delighted me. If I could [rehearse] a million times over before shooting, I would. I really enjoyed working with him, and I really hope I get a chance to do it again.

What can you say about Mamie Gummer, who plays a longtime friend of Fisher’s?

She’s fantastic! She’s amazing.

Did you feel any special bond with Mamie because you’re both daughters of Oscar-winning celebrities?

Honestly, I felt a bond with her because we share a lot of friends in common. Just being raised on the East Coast and [we] went in the direction of becoming actors. I have a lot of respect for her and the career she’s creating for herself. It takes a lot of chutzpah when your mother is Meryl Streep to perform. [Mamie is] amazing and is going to have an extraordinary, exceptional career. I really look up to her in that way.

Jessica Collins, Mamie Gummer, Bryce Dallas Howard, Jodie Markell, Ellen Burstyn and Chris Evans at the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival premiere after-party for "The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond"

Jessica Collins, who plays Fisher’s rival Vinnie, is quite a discovery in "The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond."

Isn’t she great? This is her first film. She’s beautiful. She went to Juilliard. She’s an incredible actress. When she left — she only came in for a short period of time during shooting; we shot all of her scenes together — I was sobbing, "This is all about you!" I felt like it was such a good part and for this to be someone’s first role is really special. And she just did such an incredible job, and I hope that everyone who sees this just walks away saying, "Who is this actress? She’s amazing!"

Is your Gwen Stacy character going to have a big role in "Spider-Man 4"?

I don’t know. It was really made clear to me when we did "Spider-Man 3" that it was entirely possible that a character could come back or a character could not. This could be just a specific plot to that film, because there are so many stories in the comic-book series, if you want to pack in as much as possible. It’s up to ["Spider-Man" director] Sam [Raimi] and the writers and the people who have done such an amazing job protecting that franchise and choosing the best storylines for the audiences. I’m a fan first. I had an incredible time working with them, but what I want more than anything is just for that franchise to continue to kick butt and to really appease the really, really, loyal fans, including myself.

Have you been approached to do "Spider-Man 4"?

No. I haven’t. There’s no disappointment because it’s exciting … what’s happening to that franchise. I’m just happy that there’s going to be two more ["Spider-Man" movies]. During the third ["Spider-Man" movie], there was a question. And after it came out, it was pretty clear that people were really supportive of the franchise. I’m really stoked that it’s continuing on.

Bryce Dallas Howard in "Terminator Salvation"

McG says that he wants to direct more "Terminator" movies. If he does, would you be on board for that?

Oh, yeah! I haven’t signed anything that would obligate them to me or me to them or anything like that, because that film ["Terminator Salvation"] was made with a lot of humility. We’ll do this one, the fact that we can, and if people ask for more, then they ask for more. But it’s an incredible group. We are all fiercely committed to the story. It’s "Terminator," for Christ’s sake. If it comes about, and if I should be so lucky that they invite me back, I would be loathe to walk away from that.

Will you play Victoria in "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn"?

I don’t want to give anything away, but "Victoria has a life span," is what I’ll say. [She laughs.] That’s all I can say about that.

Bryce Dallas Howard at the New York City premiere of "The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond"

Can you talk about your experience in joining the "Twilight" franchise?

I was really struck by what an incredible group of young people are in that franchise. Their friendships are so genuine, and they really ground each other. And there is a lot going on around them. There’s a lot of attention and scrutiny, but I’m truly moved by how solid they’ve remained in their values and belief systems and their caring of one another throughout all of that. You hope for that in a franchise.

Part of the reason to come back together is to tell a story but also to come back together because everyone genuinely enjoys working with one another. And it was a really, really positive experience for that reason — other than set aside the fact that I’ve read the ["Twilight"] books and loved the books from the very beginning and these characters are extraordinary. It’s such an absorbing story that I just felt very lucky, given the unfortunate circumstances surrounding it, that I was just invited in. I hope that "Eclipse" continues this trend of being really reverent of what ["Twilight" book series author] Stephenie [Meyer] created with the books.

Bryce Dallas Howard at the Los Angeles premiere of "Terminator Salvation"

What advice would you have for an actor who is doing a role that was previously played by someone else? A lot of people thought you handled yourself well in the controversy over your "Eclipse" casting.

We’ll see. The jury is still out because Rachelle [Lefevre] really created an incredible character and is exquisite. I feel like the uproar that occurred was really appropriate, because part of the joy of seeing a franchise, it’s almost like a television series. You’ve seen the actors grow with the franchise. And [Lefevre’s] unavailability [to do "Eclipse"] was really, really, really unfortunate. Advice? Gosh. Just to do your best and be über-respectful. She won that role for a reason. I hope to honor everything that she created.

Can you talk about "The Originals" screenplay that you wrote?

It’s still happening. I co-wrote it with Dane Charbeneau, who’s now my brother-in-law. He married my sister [Jocelyn]. We’re still working away at it. We’ll see. Everyone in Hollywood has a screenplay. It takes a lot for something to get greenlit, especially in this day and age, but we’ll do our best.

Bryce Dallas Howard and Ron Howard at the New York City premiere of "The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond"

Would you want your father to direct the movie?

I don’t want to say "no," but I could say a solid, genuine, "I don’t know." That’s always a possibility, but there’s no definite answer. It would be a dream for me. It would be pretty high standards, for a first-time screenwriter worthy of someone like my dad. It’s a pretty big leap.

What about you becoming a producer, since you’ve been around Brian Grazer (Ron Howard’s producing partner) for all these years?

I’m actually doing it right now. I’m producing my first film right now, which Gus Van Sant is directing. It’s a screenplay from Jason Lew, one of my best friends from NYU [New York University], a first-time writer. He’s an incredible actor. A few years ago, he started writing. I developed it for two years, and then something miraculous happened.

Bryce Dallas Howard in "The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond"

What’s the name of the movie?

It was called "Restless," but now we’re calling it "The Untitled Gus Van Sant Film," because we’re waiting until the film is done with new material to make sure that it’s the exact right title, given the performances and how the story comes out.

It sounds like it’ll be very different from the blockbuster action movies you’ve done.

Yeah. Very, very different, but also wonderful. It is, at the end of the day, about storytelling and a deep commitment to hopefully telling the right story.