'Hillbilly Elegy' Director Ron Howard 'Surprised' By JD Vance's Trump Twist

“Hillbilly Elegy” director Ron Howard says he’s been alarmed by Sen. JD Vance’s (R-Ohio) political evolution over the years.

While stopping by Variety’s Toronto Film Festival Studio to discuss his new film “Eden” with the project’s cast last week, the Oscar-winning filmmaker reflected on Vance’s turn towards Donald Trump and why he thinks its more important to vote than ever.

Asked about the Republican vice presidential candidate’s political rise in the years since they worked together on the 2020 film adaptation of Vance’s memoir, “Hillbilly Elegy,” Howard said, “I have been surprised and concerned by a lot of the rhetoric coming out of that campaign.”

“There’s no version of me voting for Donald Trump to be president again, whoever the vice president was,” he continued. “But given the experience that I had then, five, six years ago… Yeah, I’d say that I’ve been surprised.”

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