Question:  William Preston played a blacksmith in an American epic romantic adventure drama film directed by who? 
Context: Far and Away is a 1992 American epic romantic adventure drama film directed by Ron Howard from a script by Howard and Bob Dolman.  It stars Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman.  The cinematographer was Mikael Salomon, and the music score was done by John Williams.  It was screened out of competition at the 1992 Cannes Film Festival. William Preston (August 26, 1921 – July 10, 1998) did not start his acting career until he was at the age of 47 but subsequently appeared in more than sixty productions of Shakespeare's plays.  He had a Master's degree in English literature from Penn State.  He is perhaps best known for his role as recurring character Carl "Oldy" Olson on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien".  Among his many movie roles, he played John, the bum, from "The Fisher King" (1991), a blacksmith in "Far and Away" (1992), and the flask mourner in "Family Business" (1989).  He later appeared in "Waterworld" (1995), "Reckless" (1995), "Blue in the Face" (1995), and "The Crucible" (1996). Out of Africa is a 1985 American epic romantic drama film directed and produced by Sydney Pollack, and starring Robert Redford and Meryl Streep.  The film is based loosely on the autobiographical book "Out of Africa" written by Isak Dinesen (the pseudonym of Danish author Karen Blixen), which was published in 1937, with additional material from Dinesen's book "Shadows on the Grass" and other sources.  This film received 28 film awards, including seven Academy Awards. "Brokeback Mountain" is a 2005 American epic romantic drama film directed by Ang Lee.  Based on the short story of the same name by author Annie Proulx, the story was adapted by Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana.  The film depicts the complex emotional and sexual relationship between two men, Ennis Del Mar and Jack Twist (played by Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal, respectively) in the American West between 1963 and 1983.  Michelle Williams, Anne Hathaway, Linda Cardellini, Randy Quaid, Anna Faris, and Kate Mara feature in supporting roles. Aloma of the South Seas is a 1941 American romantic adventure drama film starring Dorothy Lamour and Jon Hall, directed by Alfred Santell.  The film was shot in Technicolor and distributed by Paramount Pictures. Noah's Ark is a 1928 American epic romantic melodramatic disaster film directed by Michael Curtiz and starring Dolores Costello and George O'Brien.  The story is by Darryl F. Zanuck.  The film was released by the Warner Bros. studio.  It is representative of the transition from silent movies to "talkies", although it is essentially a hybrid film known as a part-talkie, which used the new Vitaphone sound-on-disc system.  Most scenes are silent with a synchronized music score and sound effects, in particular the biblical ones, while some scenes have dialogue. Mohenjo Daro is a 2016 Indian epic romantic adventure film, written and directed by Ashutosh Gowariker, It is produced by Siddharth Roy Kapur for UTV Motion Pictures and Sunita Gowariker for Ashutosh Gowariker Productions (AGPPL), and features Hrithik Roshan and Pooja Hegde in the lead roles.  It is a cinematic presentation referencing the ancient Indus Valley civilization and its city, Mohenjo-daro, a UNESCO World Heritage site.  located in Sindh, Pakistan. The Blue Lagoon is a 1980 American romantic adventure drama film directed by Randal Kleiser and filmed on Turtle Island in Fiji.  The screenplay by Douglas Day Stewart was based on the 1908 novel "The Blue Lagoon" by Henry De Vere Stacpoole.  The film stars Brooke Shields and Christopher Atkins.  The music score was composed by Basil Poledouris and the cinematography was by Néstor Almendros. Bird of Paradise is an American Pre-Code 1932 American romantic adventure drama film directed by King Vidor, starring Dolores del Río and Joel McCrea.  It was released by RKO Radio Pictures. Tristan & Isolde is a 2006 epic romantic drama film directed by Kevin Reynolds and written by Dean Georgaris based on the medieval romantic legend of Tristan and Isolde.  Produced by Ridley Scott (who had been working on an adaptation since the mid-1970s) and Tony Scott, the film stars James Franco and Sophia Myles, alongside a supporting cast featuring Rufus Sewell, Mark Strong, and Henry Cavill.  This was Franchise Pictures' last film before bankruptcy.
Answer: Ron Howard