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Brian Howe

Brian Howe is an American film and television actor whose career is built on the value of a dependable, distinctive supporting presence. Born in the United States on December 31, 1957, Howe has moved comfortably between studio movies, network television, genre series and knowingly offbeat comedy. His film credits include K-PAX, The Majestic, Catch Me If You Can, Return to Me, RV, Déjà Vu and Evan Almighty. He also appeared as Steve Kowalski in Gran Torino and later featured in Annabelle. It is the kind of filmography that regularly places an actor alongside very different tones and styles, from romantic drama and broad comedy to supernatural horror. Howe has been just as active on television. His guest appearances include Crossing Jordan, Criminal Minds, Judging Amy, Law & Order, The Unit, Without a Trace, Boston Legal, The Shield, Lie to Me and Charmed. He was a regular on Journeyman, playing a newspaper editor, and went on to recurring roles in Nikita, Justified and Westworld. In 2021, he took a main role as Peter McRoberts in Kevin Can F**k Himself, a series that gave him another opportunity to work within a sharply defined comic world. That taste for comedy is especially clear in Howe’s work with filmmaker Larry Blamire’s stock company. In the science-fiction spoof The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra, he played Dr. Roger Fleming, the evil scientist responsible for awakening the skeleton. He returned as Fleming’s twin brother, Peter, in The Lost Skeleton Returns Again, and played the dim but heroic sailor Big Dan Frater in Trail of the Screaming Forehead. Across those parts, Howe’s appeal lies in his ability to commit fully to a character’s particular rhythm. Whether working in grounded drama, television suspense or deliberately strange parody, he brings the assured presence of an actor who understands exactly what the scene needs from him.