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

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, pr ...

Biography

Early life

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

Fleet Street Fleet Street is a major street mostly in the City of London. It runs west to east from Temple Bar at the boundary with the City of Westminster to Ludgate Circus at the site of the London Wall and the River Fleet from which the street was n ...

journalist who, in 1963, broke the infamous Profumo Scandal by getting the exclusive story from call girl

Christine Keeler Christine Margaret Keeler (22 February 1942 – 4 December 2017) was an English model and showgirl. Her meeting at a dance club with society osteopath Stephen Ward drew her into fashionable circles. At the height of the Cold War, she became s ...

of her illicit affair with a high ranking government minister. Howitt grew up in

Eltham Eltham ( ) is a district of 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 wards o ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

and

Bromley Bromley is a large town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is south-east of Charing Cross, and had an estimated population of 87,889 as of 2011. Originally part of Kent, Bromley became a market town, c ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

. He was educated at Wyborne Primary School in New Eltham and

Colfe's Grammar School Colfe's School, previously Colfe's Grammar School is a co-educational independent day school in Lee in the London Borough of Lewisham, in southeast London, England, and one of the oldest schools in London. The school is a member of the Headmast ...

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 Paisley Grammar School is a secondary school in Paisley, the largest town in Renfrewshire, Scotland. The school was founded in 1576 by royal charter of King James VI and is situated on Glasgow Road. The school is recognised as one of Scotland ...

in Paisley, Scotland in 1970. He studied at the

Drama Studio London Drama Studio London (DSL) is a British drama school in London. It is accredited by the Federation of Drama Schools. The Drama Studio London was founded in 1966 by actor and director Peter Layton, focusses on developing individual talent nurture ...

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 Brookside may refer to: Geography Canada * Brookside, Edmonton * Brookside, Newfoundland and Labrador * Brookside, Nova Scotia United Kingdom * Brookside, Berkshire, England * Brookside, Telford, an area of Telford, England United States * Br ...

actress

Sue Jenkins Susan Elizabeth Jenkins (born 31 July 1955) is an English actress. She is most widely known for her roles as Gloria Todd in the ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' (1985–1988) and as Jackie Corkhill in the Channel 4 soap opera '' Brookside ...

. However, he is much better known for playing Joey Boswell in the BBC TV series ''

Bread Bread is a staple food prepared from a dough of flour (usually wheat) and water, usually by baking. Throughout recorded history and around the world, it has been an important part of many cultures' diet. It is one of the oldest human-made f ...

''. 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 ...

'' (2001), ''

Johnny English ''Johnny English'' is a 2003 spy comedy film directed by Peter Howitt and written by Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and William Davies. It is a British-French venture produced by StudioCanal and Working Title Films, and distributed by Universa ...

'' (2003), ''

Laws of Attraction ''Laws of Attraction'' is a 2004 American romantic comedy film directed by Peter Howitt, based on a story by Aline Brosh McKenna and screenplay by Robert Harling and McKenna. It stars Pierce Brosnan and Julianne Moore. Plot High-powered div ...

'' (2004), and ''

Dangerous Parking ''Dangerous Parking'' is a 2007 drama film written and directed by Peter Howitt based on the novel of the same name by Stuart Browne, who died in 1999. Plot ''Dangerous Parking'' tells the story of Noah Arkwright, a cult director in the indie ...

'' (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 (born 1990) and Amy (born 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 most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, for ...

, Canada.

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards

European Film Award The European Film Awards (or European Film Academy Awards) have been presented annually since 1988 by the European Film Academy to recognize excellence in European cinematic achievements. The awards are given in 19 categories, of which the mo ...

(1998) – European Screenwriter ('' Sliding Doors'') *

Empire Awards The Empire Awards was an annual British awards ceremony honouring cinematic achievements in the local and global film industry. Winners were awarded the Empire Award statuette. The awards, first presented in 1996, were presented by the British f ...

(1999) – Best British Director ('' Sliding Doors'') *

Shanghai International Film Festival The Shanghai International Film Festival (, French: ''Festival international du film de Shanghai''), abbreviated SIFF, is one of the largest film festivals in East Asia. "China's biggest film festival" according to the Hollywood Reporter. Nex ...

(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 ...

'')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. Along with the Shanghai International Film Festival, it is one of Asia's competitive film festivals, and is considered to be the ...

(2007) – Best Director (''

'')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 Male actors from Kent People from Eltham