Hillbilly ElegyDirector Ron Howard Says He’s ‘Very Surprised and Disappointed’ by J.D. Vance’s Political Rhetoric

Mar. 15, 2025

FilmmakerRon Howardis sharing his thoughts aboutJ.D. Vance’s vice presidential candidacy, four years after he adapted Vance’s memoir,Hillbilly Elegy,into a Netflix film of the same name.

In an interview withDeadlineat theToronto International Film Festival, Howard, 70, revealed that he has been “surprised” at the author-turned-Republican politician’s oftenfar-right political beliefs.

“Well, we didn’t talk a lot of politics when we were making the movie because I was interested in his upbringing and that survival tale,” Howard told Deadline. “That’s what we mostly focused on.”

Ron Howard; J.D. Vance.Jamie McCarthy/Getty; Bill Pugliano/Getty

Jamie McCarthy/Getty; Bill Pugliano/Getty

Although Howard told the outlet that he and Vance did not speak about his political views, the filmmaker said that “that was then,” and the now–Ohio senator changed his tune since they first met.

“When we spoke around the time that I knew him, he was not involved in politics or claimed to be particularly interested,” Howard said, before taking a moment to encourage people to vote in the upcoming election.

Owen Asztalos as J.D. Vance and Amy Adams as Bev in a ‘Hillbilly Elegy’ scene.Lacey Terrell/NETFLIX

Lacey Terrell/NETFLIX

“I think the important thing is to recognize what’s going on today and to vote. And so that’s my answer,” theHappy Daysalum said. “It’s not really about a movie made five or six years ago. It is, but we need to respond to what we’re seeing, hearing, feeling now, and vote responsibly, whatever that is. We must participate. That’s my answer.”

Howard directed the 2020 Netflix film, which starredAmy AdamsandGlenn Closeand was based on Vance’s 2016 bookHillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis.

Ron Howard at the Toronto International Film Festival on Sept. 7, 2024.Emma McIntyre/WireImage

Emma McIntyre/WireImage

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Both Vance, 40, andHillbilly Elegyhave been the subject of some criticism since its release in 2016, with many writers and critics alleging that he portrayed the culture incorrectly.

“Hillbilly Elegyplays like ‘privileged’ Hollywood outsiders looking in with pity so as to assuage their white liberal guilt. By ignoring the very specific politics and personal observations that made the book allegedly valuable as a memoir, the film negates its very reason for existing,” film reporter Scott Mendelson wrote for aForbesreview at the time.

Despite these criticisms, the book and film saw commercial success, with the former hitting No. 1 on theNew York Timesbest-seller list and the movie topping Netflix’s most-watched lists around its release.

source: people.com