Hillbilly Elegy director Ron Howard says he’s ‘surprised and disappointed’ by JD Vance

‘We didn’t talk a lot of politics when we were making the movie,’ filmmaker said

Hillbilly Elegy director Ron Howard has taken a swipe at JD Vance, suggesting that Donald Trump’s Republican running mate has “changed” since he first met him.

Earlier this year, Vance was selected to be Trump’s possible vice president in the 2024 US presidential election race – but before his political career, he was known for being the author of memoir Hillbilly Elegy, which was later adapted into a Netflix film of the same name.

Since being announced as Trump’s running mate, Vance has been criticised for comments that saw him refer to women, such as Trump’s presidential rival Kamala Harris, as “childless cat ladies”. This prompted swift backlash and accusations of sexism, with Vance claiming the remarks were made in “sarcasm”.

While Hillbilly Elegy star Glenn Close, who played grandmother Mawmaw in the movie, made her own subtle dig at Vance, Howard has now shared his view on the controversial figure after being questioned about him during an appearance at Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).

When asked to comment on “unleashing” the “polarising, volatile conservative”, the filmmaker told Deadline: “Well, we didn’t talk a lot of politics when we were making the movie because I was interested in his upbringing and that survival tale. That’s what we mostly focused on.

“However, based on the conversations that we had during that time, I just have to say I’m very surprised and disappointed by much of the rhetoric that I’m reading and hearing. People do change, and I assume that’s the case. Well, it’s on record.”

Howard continued: “When we spoke around the time that I knew him, he was not involved in politics or claimed to be particularly interested. So that was then.”

He said that he thinks “the important thing is to recognise what’s going on today and to vote”, telling the outlet: “And so that’s my answer. It’s not really about a movie made five or six years ago. It is, but we need to respond to what we’re seeing, hearing, feeling now, and vote responsibly, whatever that is., We must participate. That’s my answer.”

In the film, Amy Adams plays Vance’s mother, Bev, with Vance himself being portrayed by The Night Agent actor Gabriel Basso.

Before Vance was a couple of steps away from the most powerful position in the world, he was just a self-proclaimed “hillbilly” raised in the Appalachian mountains, living in poverty, despair and dysfunction. His journey to Yale Law School was documented in the memoir, which was published in 2017.

JD Vance is Donald Trump’s Republican running mate (Getty Images)

In the introduction to the book, he said: “I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve accomplished nothing great in my life, certainly nothing that could justify a complete stranger spending money to read about. I am not a senator, a governor, or a cabinet secretary.”

The film was described by The Independent’s critic Clarisse Loughrey as “a sickeningly irresponsible parade of death and despair”.