Peter Howitt (; born 5 May 1957) is a British actor and film director.

Biography

Early life

Howitt was born on 5 May 1957, the son of Frank Howitt, a renowned

Fleet Street Fleet Street is a street in Central London, England. It runs west to east from Temple Bar, London, Temple Bar at the boundary of the City of London, Cities of London and City of Westminster, Westminster to Ludgate Circus at the site of the Lo ...

journalist who, in 1963, broke the infamous Profumo Scandal by getting the exclusive story from call girl Christine Keeler of her illicit affair with a high ranking government minister. Howitt grew up in

Eltham Eltham ( ) is a district of South London, southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. It is east-southeast of Charing Cross, and is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. The three ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

in Tarnwood Park and

Bromley Bromley is a large town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is southeast of Charing Cross, and had an estimated population of 88,000 as of 2023. Originally part of Kent, Bromley became a market town, charte ...

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

. He was educated at Wyborne Primary School in New Eltham and Colfe's Grammar School in Lee, South London. While in Eltham he was a member of the Priory Players amateur dramatics group. Howitt spent a brief time at Paisley Grammar School in Paisley, Scotland in 1970. He studied at the

Drama Studio London Drama Studio London (often abbreviated as DSL) is a British drama school in London. It is accredited by the Federation of Drama Schools. The principal is Emma Lucia Hands. The Drama Studio London was started in 1966 by Peter Layton. It focus ...

in 1976.

Career

Howitt's first notable TV role was in the 1984–85 series of

Yorkshire Television ITV Yorkshire, previously known as Yorkshire Television and commonly referred to as just YTV, is the British television service provided by ITV Broadcasting Limited for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV (TV network), ITV network. Until 19 ...

's long-running programme for schools '' How We Used To Live'', where he starred alongside Brookside actress Sue Jenkins. He is best known for playing Joey Boswell in the first four series of

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

TV series ''

Bread Bread is a baked food product made from water, flour, and often yeast. It is a staple food across the world, particularly in Europe and the Middle East. Throughout recorded history and around the world, it has been an important part of many cu ...

''. In 1998, he wrote and directed his first film, '' Sliding Doors'' (1998). Since then, he has directed several films, including ''

Antitrust Competition law is the field of law that promotes or seeks to maintain market competition by regulating anti-competitive conduct by companies. Competition law is implemented through public and private enforcement. It is also known as antitrust l ...

'' (2001), '' Johnny English'' (2003), '' Laws of Attraction'' (2004), and '' Dangerous Parking'' (2008). He adapted the latter film from the novel by Stuart Browne, as well as produced and directed it, and played the lead role.

Personal life

Howitt has two children, Luke (b. 1990) and Amy (b. 2008). He currently resides in

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

, Canada.

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards

* European Film Award (1998) – European Screenwriter ('' Sliding Doors'') * Empire Awards (1999) – Best British Director ('' Sliding Doors'') * Shanghai International Film Festival (2001) – Jin Jue Award for Best Director (''

AntiTrust Competition law is the field of law that promotes or seeks to maintain market competition by regulating anti-competitive conduct by companies. Competition law is implemented through public and private enforcement. It is also known as antitrust l ...

'')Shanghai International Film Festival official site
, last accessed 21 November 2007
, last accessed 21 November 2007 *Shanghai International Film Festival (2001) – Jin Jue Award for Best Film (''AntiTrust'') *

Tokyo International Film Festival The is a film festival established in 1985. The event was held biennially from 1985 to 1991 and annually thereafter. According to the FIAPF, it is one of Asia's competitive film festivals and the second largest film festival in Asia behind the ...

(2007) – Best Director ('' Dangerous Parking'')Tokyo International Film Festival official site
, last accessed 21 November 2007

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Howitt, Peter 1957 births Living people Alumni of the Drama Studio London English film directors English male film actors European Film Award for Best Screenwriter winners Actors from the Royal Borough of Greenwich English emigrants to Canada Male actors from Manchester People from Bromley Actors from the London Borough of Bromley People from Eltham Male actors from Kent