On the Phone with ...
Bryce Dallas Howard

Our intrepid reporter goes one-on-one with "Spider-Man 3's" new love interest.

By Peter Wortmann

"This is the darkest 'Spider-Man' by far," says Bryce Dallas Howard, sitting in her pajamas and speaking by phone from the Greenwich, Conn., home of her famous father, director Ron Howard. And she would know: She plays buxom blonde Gwen Stacy in "Spider-Man 3," which is opening next Friday. The role, as the other girl in Peter Parker's life, was coveted by many young actresses.

"I heard rumors that the next movie would have a new female role, but it didn't seem possible for me," she says. The call finally came from her agent. It all unfolded like a fairy tale. Tobey Maguire actually read with Howard at her audition, and she landed the role. Biggest role of her life.

Well, maybe second biggest.

Soundly sleeping during our interview was Theo, her 6-week-old son with husband and fellow actor Seth Gable. On the subject of motherhood, Howard, 26, was exultant. "I know how it sounds, but having Theo is truly miraculous. It's almost surreal, the whole idea of bringing another person into the world." She had looked through baby-naming books. "Theo means 'gift from God.' "

The compelling interest behind the newest installment of "Spider-Man" is that we all have a dark side. All of us. But the woman on the other end of the phone seems gloriously gratified, contentedly awaiting the opening of a movie that may very well take this actress from the realm of the accomplished -- Howard was lauded forher portrayal of blind girl Ivy Walker in the critically panned M. Night Shyamalan picture "The Village" -- to the land of stardom.

Still, there must be more. What about the fact that she's the daughter of Ron Howard, who often is referred to as the nicest man in Hollywood? If there's a genetic link, maybe I can deconstruct the father to get to the child. Has she ever seen the man America once knew as Opie get really angry? "Tense," his daughter says. "Sometimes, he gets tense. You can see it in his chin. There's a tightness, and I'll ask if everything's OK, and he'll say, 'Yeah, it's OK.' "

Howard's middle name, Dallas, was chosen by her parents to commemorate the location of her conception. Howard acknowledges that Freud would've had a field day with the practice. Did she perpetuate it in naming her own child? No. His full name is Theodore Norman Howard Gable -- Norman being her husband's grandfather's name. If only "Oldsmobile" had been in there, my quest to discover the dark side of the Howard clan might have been realized.

When I asked Howard about the inevitable conflict between family life and her burgeoning career, her answer was simple and straightforward: "My family will always, always, 100% come first."

That's easy to say, but certainly hard to do. Still, it's lovely to hear. Then, she choked up. "You're gonna make me cry," she says.

When I hung up the phone, I remembered something from our conversation. Early on, Howard had admitted that she was a bit sleep-deprived. And that can make a person moody, can't it? Moody. Irritable. Sullen. ... Dark.

Peter Wortmann is a screenwriter based in New York.