'Introvert' Ron Howard Says He Admires Latest Doc Subject Richard Avedon for Being an Extrovert Who 'Wanted a Swirl' (Exclusive)

Angela AndaloroFri, April 10, 2026 at 4:51 PM UTC

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Ron Howard (left), Richard AvedonCredit: Frazer Harrison/Getty; Jack Mitchell/Getty -

Ron Howard and Brian Grazer's Imagine Entertainment introduces Avedon, a documentary celebrating the life and work of photographer Richard Avedon

Howard tells PEOPLE about digging into Avedon's archive and speaking with those closest to him to get a full picture of the man behind some of pop culture's most unforgettable images

Avedon will have a special screening at Cannes as part of the 2026 Official Selection

Richard Avedon's work spanned fashion, commercial and photojournalistic realms, bringing stunning detail to each frame.

The famed photographer's unique charm and incomparable abilities are some of the many sides of him explored in an upcoming documentary, Avedon. The documentary is helmed by Imagine Entertainment co-chairmen Brian Grazer and Ron Howard, who explore the life and legacy of the artist who used photography to reinvent the world around him.

Speaking with PEOPLE about the film, which will have a special screening as part of Cannes' 2026 Official Selection, Howard tells PEOPLE about visiting the photographer's archive and discussing his process and the environment he created with some of his collaborators.

"Going on this tour through the foundation of this stunning, staggering collection of work, and the realization that he really straddled two worlds — glossy, commercial imagery that was incredibly effective and also as a recorder of our societal history," Howard tells PEOPLE.

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Richard Avedon in 1967Credit: Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty

"It was stunning to see just how much he accomplished in both of these areas and how many decades he spanned. I was struck by images that were about the resurgence of culture coming out of World War II, which is when he rose to fame as a young photographer. It was that post-Depression, post-World War II rediscovery of beauty and design and popular culture in that way. And then he was right in the middle of the Madmen 50s era, Marilyn Monroe and Louis Armstrong and those kinds of celebrities, to go with all the covers for Harper's Bazaar that he was beginning to do."

Howard continued, "But then he kept going, and then in the 60s, he was not only doing pop art and cool commercial stuff, but he started doing the civil liberties and the civil rights movement and the Vietnam and the revolution, and that just kept going. So I began to realize that in a way, you're getting to look at culture and how it's impacted by images throughout very tumultuous and fascinating periods of culture."

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Part of the deep dive into Avedon's world included looking at his interviews, reading interviews that he'd given, but also talking to people as we were beginning to build out the documentary.

Richard Avedon in 1980Credit: Ralph Dominguez/MediaPunch via Getty

"I found that in learning about Avedon, I've known some people who had qualities like him, who were incredibly creative, funny, much more extroverted. I'm an introvert. He wanted a swirl, he wanted to be the life of the party, or the heartbeat more than the life; the heartbeat of the party," the director noted.

"He wanted to host and he wanted to pull people together, and he loved that. It fueled his creativity. And I've got some really deep affection for a handful of people in my life who have lived that way and been unbelievably prolific and successful, but also just great magnets for pulling people together, having laughs, and discovering other aspects of their psyche and their art."

Richard Avedon in 2003Credit: Evan Agostini/Getty

Howard is excited for audiences to get to know Avedon and his career in greater detail.

"I think his work is fascinating and engaging and worthy, but I think it celebrates the creative energy and the possibility of expressing yourself creatively in more than one area. You don't have to stay in one lane as you develop a talent, explore, take some risks, take some chances, and Avedon did that."

He concluded, "So I think it celebrates the creative engine that really all of us have, and some make it our life's work, some apply it from time to time, but it's always there and it's always on, and here's an example of somebody who maximized the output of that within him."

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”