Bryce Dallas Howard "very badly" wants to work with her legendary filmmaker father Ron Howard.

The 43-year-old actress has appeared as an extra for her dad but hasn't worked with the 70-year-old director "professionally as an actor" and she hopes that will change.

Speaking recently at Steel City Con in Monroeville, Pennsylvania, she said: "When I was like seven, I was an extra, but I've never worked with him professionally as an actor, with dialogue and all of that.

"But I want to. I want to very badly. And I would always sort of harass him about it. And now I'm like, 'Let's talk, dude.'"

Bryce has fond memories of being on set with the Oscar-winning director - whose credits include 1984's 'Splash', 1985's 'Cocoon', 2001's 'A Beautiful Mind', 1995's 'Apollo 13', and 2016 documentary 'The Beatles: Eight Days a Week' - growing up.

She said: "My childhood was going and spending time with him on set.

"For a few reasons. One is I'm the oldest of four, and so I wanted to be on set, and so it just made it easier, one less kid for my mom to be wrangling during the day. So I was really kind of tagging along with him. And also because he was working professionally from the time he was 18 months old, and his parents were in the industry."

Sharing her favourite memories, she added: "I remember trying on the Splash mermaid's tail and the Cocoon alien's head."

Bryce followed in her former 'Happy Days' actor father's footsteps by shifting from being in front of the camera to stepping behind the lens, starting with the 2022 documentary 'Dads'.

Ron helmed 2018's 'Solo: A Star Wars Story' and Bryce went on to helm episodes of 'Star Wars' spin-offs 'The Mandalorian', 'The Book of Boba Fett', and the hotly anticipated 'Star Wars: Skeleton Crew'.

Bryce - who has three younger siblings, twins Paige and Jocelyn, 38, and Reed, 37, whom Ron has with wife Cheryl - previously shared that she "wasn't allowed" to act during her childhood.

The 'Argylle' star told PEOPLE: "I think if I had the chance to act younger, I would've taken it. But I wasn't allowed to.

"My parents were very firm on that boundary, that they were not going to support anyone who wanted to be a child actor."

Bryce's parents were keen for her to find experience in other industries.

She shared: "I started working as a waitress on the weekends at a deli, and it was fantastic. Because I was 14, I needed to get a waiver from my parents to be on a payroll, and honestly, I was like, 'This is great.'"