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# Howard ready to shed light on ‘The Village’ ending
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/073004-story-20040730/
- Published: 2004-07-30T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T04:46:54.000Z
- Author: Dan Dunn
- Tags: Entertainment, Santa Monica, #archive-import

She’s been on the periphery of fame all her life, but now the spotlight is shining brightly on 22-year-old Bryce Dallas Howard. The daughter of Hollywood icon Ron Howard, Bryce cut her acting teeth in New York City — first at NYU’s prestigious Tisch School of the Arts, then in several well-received off-Broadway plays. After catching her performance as Rosalind in the Public Theater’s production of “As You Like It,” director M. Night Shymalan was moved to offer her the lead role in “The Village” without even so much as a screen test. Yes, she’s that good. And if there’s a more genial, erudite young actress working in film today, we’ve yet to meet her. The following are highlights from a recent press conference Bryce participated in to promote “The Village” and her stellar film debut as the film’s visually-impaired heroine, Ivy Walker.

QUESTION: You attended a 19th Century “boot camp” prior to shooting “The Village.” What did you learn from that experience?

BRYCE DALLAS HOWARD: I learned that you become extremely filthy after seven days without showering. Mostly, I just bonded with the cast, and we got to see different sides of each other.

Q: You’re very convincing as a blind woman. What sort of preparation did you do?

BDH: I went to a place called the Lighthouse in New York City, and they really instructed me on what I would have to do as a sighted person to have any understanding of what it would be like to be blind. I’ve tried my best, but I will never truly know what it is like to be blind because I always had the option to remove the blindfold.

Q: Describe what it was like with the blindfold on. BDH: I spent a large portion of every day blindfolded. After 90 minutes of wearing a blindfold, your brain starts rewiring itself, essentially, and your other senses become heightened. It was extraordinary what I learned about myself and my own body while doing this.

Q: Were you frightened? BDH: Eventually I tried to venture out into the woods blindfolded, which was terrifying. My two biggest fears, ironically, are darkness and being alone in the woods. My imagination can really get to me in those states, and they certainly did. But I felt like I would have been a phony if I didn’t confront my own fears.

Q: How difficult has it been to keep mum about the film’s surprise ending?

BDH: Good lord, it’s difficult. I’m pretty good at keeping secrets, but this has been strenuous and quite grueling to keep this locked away in my brain. I’m so relieved that on July 30 I’m going to finally be able to release my sweet little secret that I’ve been keeping for over a year now.

Q: When you were a kid, how aware were you of your father’s prominence?

BDH: It’s like when a child is asked, “What does your daddy do?” and they say “I don’t know, he works in an office.” I had sort of similar situation. I knew that he went to a set and that he worked with his friends — I thought they were just his friends because he worked with the same crew over and over again — but I really didn’t know the details of what he was doing, honestly.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/55/9f/559f9abc-8372-4a2e-8c2d-27386da4e363/content/images/2026/10/073004-15_01.jpg)

(Photo: BY DAN DUNN Special to the Daily Press)

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/55/9f/559f9abc-8372-4a2e-8c2d-27386da4e363/content/images/2026/10/073004-15_02.jpg)

(Photo: BY DAN DUNN Special to the Daily Press)

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on July 30, 2004.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/073004.pdf?ref=smdp.com)