Dia Dipasupil/Getty; Leon Bennett/WireImage Ron Howard has opened up about enduring friendship with hisHappy Dayscostar Henry Winkler "We clicked immediately," Howard said of connecting with his old pal while speaking exclusively to PEOPLE at theWSJFuture of Everything event on Wednesday, May 28 The pair have stayed friends over the decades, with Winkler even serving as godfather to Howard's daughter, actress Bryce Dallas Howard Ron Howardand hisHappy DayscostarHenry Winklerwere destined to become friends from the start. The 71-year-old actor and director shared that the great chemistry between him and Winkler — who played Richie and Fonzie, respectively, on the classic sitcom — translated onscreen as well as off. "We clicked. "We — Henry Winkler and I — clicked immediately, on a kind of professional level, but I also looked up to him," Howard tells PEOPLE at theWSJFuture of Everything event on Wednesday, May 28 at The Glasshouse in New York City. He said one of the things that initially intrigued him aboutThe Waterboystar, 79, was how he was so unlike the rest of the people in Hollywood that Howard had met at the time. Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE's free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty "Henry's a few years older than I am. Yale educated, and he looked at acting in a way that was — it wasn't Hollywood," Howard shares. "It was a little more intellectual. It was theater based, and that was new to me. But more than anything, we just got along beautifully and worked well together." That mutual bond deepened over the years, leading to a decades-long friendship that stood the test of time and even produced classic films like 1982'sNight Shift— which Howard said Winkler helped to get "greenlit." ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content/Getty The PEOPLE Appis now available in the Apple App Store! Download it now for the most binge-worthy celeb content, exclusive video clips, astrology updates and more! "When he agreed to doNight Shift, which was the first film Brian [Grazer] and I made together, it helped get the movie greenlit when Henry committed to be in the film, and so he did us both a huge solid when he committed to that movie," he says. Howard told PEOPLE earlier this month that because of Winkler's support inNight Shift, his friend "played a hand in helpingmy dream ultimately come true, which was to be a studio, Hollywood, feature director." He would go on to direct movies likeA Beautiful Mind,Apollo 13andThe Da Vinci Code. Winkler was a willing participant, as he sharedat the Steel City Con in Pittsburghin April that Howard once asked him if he thought he "could do" directing and he responded saying, "'Ron, knowing you, if you were a brain surgeon, even if I didn't need to,I would be a patient.' And he went on." The pair grew so close that theRushdirector even made Winkler thegodfather to his actress daughterBryce Dallas Howard, 44.The Helpstar has also referred to Winkler in the past as someone who is "like a father to me." Winkler has equally praised his old friend over the years, previously saying of theEdendirector, "You would never know that Ron was a star. He was another member of this wonderful unit." Read the original article onPeople
