# Clint Howard
**Clint Howard** (Clinton Engle Howard, born 1959) is an American character actor whose career began as a toddler on television and has run for more than six decades across film and television, including a recurring presence in the *Star Trek* franchise and frequent appearances in films directed by his older brother, [Ron Howard](https://www.edgepedia.org/ron-howard).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1959, Burbank, California; son of actors Rance Howard and Jean Speegle Howard[1](https://www.ancientfaces.com/photo/clint-howard-clinton-engle-howard-is-my-16th-cousi/1425727) |
| First work | December 1961 on *The Andy Griffith Show*, by his own account his first day of employment in show business[2](https://www.avclub.com/clint-howard-on-working-with-the-ramones-a-hungry-bear-1847763705) |
| First lead role | Mark Wedloe in *Gentle Giant* (1967) and the spin-off CBS series *Gentle Ben*, opposite a bear[3](https://www.csun.edu/sites/default/files/06-program.pdf) |
| *Star Trek* | Balok in "The Corbomite Maneuver" (*The Original Series*) at age 7; later roles in *Deep Space Nine*, *Enterprise*, *Discovery*, and *Strange New Worlds*[4](https://www.startrek.com/en-ca/news/interview-frequent-trek-guest-clint-howard-part-2) • [5](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0397212) |
| Films with Ron Howard | 17 films with his brother as director, from *Splash* and *Cocoon* to *Apollo 13*[6](https://www.soapoperadigest.com/content/a-look-back-at-the-storied-career-of-bbs-clint-howard/) |
| Memoir | Co-author with Ron of *The Boys: A Memoir of Hollywood and Family* (William Morrow, October 12, 2021), a New York Times bestseller[7](https://parade.com/1269717/meganoneill/ron-howard-clint-howard-book-the-boys/) |
## Early life and child acting
Howard was born into a working acting family. His father, [Rance Howard](https://www.edgepedia.org/rance-howard), and mother, [Jean Speegle Howard](https://www.edgepedia.org/jean-speegle-howard), were both performers, and he followed his father into show business alongside his older brother Ron[3](https://www.csun.edu/sites/default/files/06-program.pdf). Clint dates his first day of employment to December 1961, on *The Andy Griffith Show*, where he played Leon, a cowboy-hatted toddler who wandered Mayberry offering people a bite of his sandwich[2](https://www.avclub.com/clint-howard-on-working-with-the-ramones-a-hungry-bear-1847763705) • [1](https://www.ancientfaces.com/photo/clint-howard-clinton-engle-howard-is-my-16th-cousi/1425727). His first film appearance followed in 1963 as a child party guest in *The Courtship of Eddie's Father*, a set where [Liza Minnelli](https://www.edgepedia.org/liza-minnelli) worked as the party choreographer[2](https://www.avclub.com/clint-howard-on-working-with-the-ramones-a-hungry-bear-1847763705).
In 1967 he won the role of the orphan Mark Wedloe in the film *Gentle Giant*, in which the boy adopts a bear as a pet; the film led to the CBS series *Gentle Ben*, his first lead role, in which he starred opposite the titular bear[3](https://www.csun.edu/sites/default/files/06-program.pdf). He has described working with the animal, and with the cast of a Western alongside [Henry Fonda](https://www.edgepedia.org/henry-fonda), Maureen O'Hara, Ben Johnson, and [Jack Elam](https://www.edgepedia.org/jack-elam), as the pinnacle of his childhood acting career[8](https://media.truewestmagazine.com/egnhsyrsaw/uploads/2023/06/09/normal.pdf).
## Star Trek and television
Howard's most remembered childhood role came at age 7, when he guest starred as the youthful-appearing space lord Balok in *The Original Series* episode "The Corbomite Maneuver"; he has said he had just turned 7 when he shot the episode[4](https://www.startrek.com/en-ca/news/interview-frequent-trek-guest-clint-howard-part-2). Decades later he played Grady in the *Deep Space Nine* episode "Past Tense, Part 2" and the Ferengi Muk in the *Enterprise* episode "Acquisition" (2002), and he reprised Balok for Comedy Central's 2006 roast of [William Shatner](https://www.edgepedia.org/william-shatner)[4](https://www.startrek.com/en-ca/news/interview-frequent-trek-guest-clint-howard-part-2). IMDb counts the run as spanning five series, extending through *Star Trek: Discovery* and *Star Trek: Strange New Worlds*, where he appeared as Commander Buck Martinez in 2023[5](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0397212).
His television work has ranged widely, including *Night Gallery*, *Seinfeld*, *The Streets of San Francisco*, regular roles on *Gung Ho* (ABC, 1986–87) and *Space Rangers* (CBS, 1993), and, in 2024, a return to daytime soap operas as Tom, a homeless man on *The Bold and the Beautiful*, his first soap role in nearly 40 years[9](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/clint-howard/).
## Film career
As an adult, Howard built a career as a character actor, the kind of performer audiences recognize on sight. His credits span blockbusters, independent features, cult horror, and comedy: *Rock 'n' Roll High School*, *Tango & Cash*, *The Rocketeer*, *Apollo 13*, the [Austin Powers](https://www.edgepedia.org/austin-powers) films, *The Waterboy*, and *Frost/Nixon*, among hundreds of titles[5](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0397212). He has appeared in 17 films with his brother Ron as director[6](https://www.soapoperadigest.com/content/a-look-back-at-the-storied-career-of-bbs-clint-howard/), and as a child he also did voice work for Disney, including Roo in *The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh*[1](https://www.ancientfaces.com/photo/clint-howard-clinton-engle-howard-is-my-16th-cousi/1425727).
**Cult horror and leads.** Leading roles have been rare, and Howard has been candid about the economics of the character-actor trade, telling the Los Angeles Times in 1995, "When you're a character actor you take them as they come"[10](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-07-05-ca-20307-story.html). One of his few leads was the title role in *Ice Cream Man* (1995), a straight-to-video horror film that became a cult favorite; a Chicago radio station held a "Clint Howard Film Festival" screening it alongside two of his other horror movies[10](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-07-05-ca-20307-story.html). He later appeared in [Rob Zombie](https://www.edgepedia.org/rob-zombie)'s *3 From Hell* (2019) and *The Lords of Salem* (2013), and played Smokey in the cult horror hit *Terrifier 3* (2024)[5](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0397212) • [6](https://www.soapoperadigest.com/content/a-look-back-at-the-storied-career-of-bbs-clint-howard/).
In 1998 he received the MTV Lifetime Achievement Award, a largely tongue-in-cheek honor whose past recipients included Godzilla, Chewbacca, and the Three Stooges; Howard was one of only two actual actors to receive it, the other being [Jackie Chan](https://www.edgepedia.org/jackie-chan), and the award was retired after his reception and replaced with the Generation Award[1](https://www.ancientfaces.com/photo/clint-howard-clinton-engle-howard-is-my-16th-cousi/1425727).
## Music and other pursuits
Howard fronted a band, The Kempsters, which never released an album while together; he retired the band in 1983 and later began distributing *No Brains At All*, a collection of studio tracks and seven songs recorded live on October 17, 1982, at Madame Wong's[1](https://www.ancientfaces.com/photo/clint-howard-clinton-engle-howard-is-my-16th-cousi/1425727).
## The Boys
In October 2021 the brothers published *The Boys: A Memoir of Hollywood and Family*, a joint account of growing up as sibling child actors under their Midwestern-born parents in Hollywood[11](https://www.washingtonpost.com/washington-post-live/2021/10/18/ron-clint-howard-co-authors-boys-memoir-hollywood-family/). The book spent a month on the New York Times bestseller list, a fact Clint has joked he wants on his tombstone[6](https://www.soapoperadigest.com/content/a-look-back-at-the-storied-career-of-bbs-clint-howard/). In interviews around publication, the brothers credited their parents' guidance and sacrifice, describing a childhood in which their parents never framed acting as competition between the brothers, and Rance Howard put his own career on the back burner to help his sons[12](https://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2021/10/interview-with-ron-howard-and-clint-howard/). Clint has summarized his position in the family simply: "My position being Ron's little brother was unique. He paved the way for a lot of what I did"[6](https://www.soapoperadigest.com/content/a-look-back-at-the-storied-career-of-bbs-clint-howard/).
## References
1. [Clint Howard (Clinton Engle Howard), AncientFaces biographical entry](https://www.ancientfaces.com/photo/clint-howard-clinton-engle-howard-is-my-16th-cousi/1425727)
2. [Clint Howard on working with the Ramones, a hungry bear, and big brother Ron, The A.V. Club (October 11, 2021)](https://www.avclub.com/clint-howard-on-working-with-the-ramones-a-hungry-bear-1847763705)
3. [CSUN program note: Clint Howard career summary](https://www.csun.edu/sites/default/files/06-program.pdf)
4. [INTERVIEW: Frequent Trek Guest Clint Howard, Part 2, StarTrek.com (January 3, 2014)](https://www.startrek.com/en-ca/news/interview-frequent-trek-guest-clint-howard-part-2)
5. [Clint Howard, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0397212)
6. [A Look Back at The Storied Career of B&B's Clint Howard, Soap Opera Digest](https://www.soapoperadigest.com/content/a-look-back-at-the-storied-career-of-bbs-clint-howard/)
7. [Ron and Clint Howard Talk Growing Up in Hollywood, New Book The Boys, Parade (2021)](https://parade.com/1269717/meganoneill/ron-howard-clint-howard-book-the-boys/)
8. [True West Magazine: Clint Howard interview transcript](https://media.truewestmagazine.com/egnhsyrsaw/uploads/2023/06/09/normal.pdf)
9. [Clint Howard, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/clint-howard/)
10. [This Clint Makes His Own Day, Los Angeles Times (July 5, 1995)](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-07-05-ca-20307-story.html)
11. [Ron & Clint Howard, Co-Authors, "The Boys: A Memoir of Hollywood and Family," The Washington Post (October 18, 2021)](https://www.washingtonpost.com/washington-post-live/2021/10/18/ron-clint-howard-co-authors-boys-memoir-hollywood-family/)
12. [An Interview with Ron Howard and Brother Clint, The Saturday Evening Post (October 7, 2021)](https://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2021/10/interview-with-ron-howard-and-clint-howard/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › American actors: 1970s to 1990s › Surnames He to H*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 19, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 19, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license