Hubbry Logo
Billy HowleBilly HowleMain
Open search
Billy Howle
Community hub
Billy Howle
logo
8 pages, 0 posts
0 subscribers
Be the first to start a discussion here.
Be the first to start a discussion here.
Billy Howle
Billy Howle
Billy Howle
View on Wikipedia
from Wikipedia

William Walter Douglas Howle[1] (born 9 November 1989) is an English actor. His films include On Chesil Beach (2017), The Seagull (2018), and Outlaw King (2018). On television, he is known for his roles in the E4 drama Glue (2014), MotherFatherSon (2019), the BBC miniseries The Serpent (2021), the BritBox thriller series The Beast Must Die (2021), and the Netflix mystery series The Perfect Couple (2024).

Key Information

Early life

[edit]

Howle was born in Scarborough, North Yorkshire. His mother Allison was a school teacher and his father Tim was a music professor and composer.[2] He was born the second of four boys, with three brothers, Sam (older), George and Alfie (younger).

Because of his father's profession, the family moved 12 times when Howle was a child, before settling in Scarborough. It was there that he became involved in the local music scene. At 18, he left home to study drama at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, before embarking on his career.[3]

Career

[edit]

In 2014, Howle made his debut as James Warwick on the E4 television series Glue. He co-starred in the 2017 film The Sense of an Ending (as the younger version of Jim Broadbent's lead character) and the miniseries The Witness for the Prosecution in the pivotal role of the defendant in a murder case, Leonard Vole.[4]

Howle appeared in the war film Dunkirk,[5] and starred alongside Saoirse Ronan in the film, On Chesil Beach, an adaptation of Ian McEwan's novel. He appears in the film adaptation of Anton Chekhov's The Seagull and in the Netflix film Outlaw King.

Howle was the face of Prada S/S16, shot by Craig McDean.[6]

In 2019, Howle starred alongside Richard Gere and Helen McCrory in the BBC drama series MotherFatherSon, which was written by Tom Rob Smith and he and Jodie Comer made cameo appearances in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker as Rey's parents Dathan and Miramir.

In 2021, he starred in the BBC series The Serpent[7] as Herman Knippenberg, and on BritBox's The Beast Must Die as Nigel.

In February 2022, Howle starred in Chloe as Elliott, appearing in all six episodes.[8] He also appeared in Under the Banner of Heaven as Allen Lafferty who struggled his faith after his wife Brenda's (Daisy Edger-Jones) murder.[9] In the latter part of 2022, Howle played the title role in John Haidar's production of Shakespeare's Hamlet. It was performed at the Bristol Old Vic.[10][11]

In 2024, Howle portrayed a 1970s boxer in Kid Snow,[12][2] and starred in the Netflix limited series The Perfect Couple as Benji Winbury, the son of the rich family.[13][14] The long-delayed Sweet Dreams will set to start filming in October 2024.[15] He started stage production of Look Back in Anger.[16] in 2025, he will star in Turret.[17][18]

Personal life

[edit]

Howle is actively involved in Pro-Palestine causes and advocated for a ceasefire in the Gaza war.[19] In September 2025, he signed an open pledge with Film Workers for Palestine pledging not to work with Israeli film institutions "that are implicated in genocide and apartheid against the Palestinian people."[20]

Filmography

[edit]

Film

[edit]
Year Film Role Notes
2017 The Sense of an Ending Young Tony Webster
Dunkirk Petty Officer
On Chesil Beach Edward Mayhew
2018 The Seagull Konstantin Treplyov
Outlaw King Edward, Prince of Wales
2019 Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Dathan Palpatine Cameo appearance (flashback)
2022 Infinite Storm John
2024 Kid Snow Kid Snow
2025 Palestine 36 Thomas Hopkins

Television

[edit]
Year Film Role Notes
2014 Glue James Warwick 8 episodes
Vera Billy Episode: "Death of a Family Man"
New Worlds Joseph 2 episodes
2015 Cider with Rosie Private James Harris Television film
2016 The Witness for the Prosecution Leonard Vole 2 episodes
2019 MotherFatherSon Caden Finch 8 episodes
2020–2021 The Beast Must Die Nigel Strangeways 5 episodes
2021 The Serpent Herman Knippenberg 8 episodes
2022 Chloe Elliot Fairbourne Main role, miniseries
Under the Banner of Heaven Allen Lafferty
2024 The Perfect Couple Benji Winbury

Stage

[edit]

References

[edit]
[edit]
Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

Billy Howle

View on Grokipedia
from Grokipedia
William Walter Douglas Howle (born 9 November 1989), known professionally as Billy Howle, is a British recognized for his performances in independent films and major productions. Born in , , to a schoolteacher mother and a university lecturer father, Howle is the second of four sons and trained at the before breaking into television and film. His early career featured a lead role in the 2014 British drama series Glue, marking his transition from stage to screen. Howle's breakthrough in cinema came with supporting roles in Christopher Nolan's (2017), where he portrayed a , and the period drama (2017), opposite . Subsequent credits include the historical film (2018) as Edward, , and a brief appearance as Rey's father in Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker (2019). On television, he has earned acclaim for portraying real-life figures, such as Charles Sobhraj's associate in the / miniseries The Serpent (2021) and a in the thriller The Perfect Couple (2024). Howle has also appeared in stage productions, including a 2022 portrayal of at the Bristol Old Vic. His work often emphasizes emotionally complex characters, contributing to his reputation in both arthouse and mainstream entertainment.

Early life

Family background and upbringing

Billy Howle was born William Walter Douglas Howle on 9 November 1989 in , , . He grew up as the second of four sons to a mother who worked as a schoolteacher and a father who was a music professor and . Owing to his father's academic positions, including teaching at the , the family relocated frequently during Howle's early years, moving about 12 times across various locations in before finally settling in , when he was around 10 years old. He was primarily raised in Scarborough, where the household emphasized artistic exposure, surrounded by music and performance due to his parents' professions. Howle has characterized his Scarborough childhood as "feral," shaped by liberal parenting that allowed significant freedom amid the frequent disruptions of relocation.

Education and training

Formal acting education

Billy Howle undertook formal acting training following , beginning with a one-year foundation course at an unspecified . He then enrolled at the , a conservatoire affiliated with the Bristol Old Vic , where he completed a three-year intensive program in . The curriculum emphasized practical skills including voice, movement, text work, and ensemble performance, drawing on the school's tradition of preparing actors for professional and screen work through small cohort sizes—typically 16 to 20 students per year—and collaborations with the adjacent professional . Howle graduated from the program in 2013, having performed in student productions such as during his tenure. This training marked his structured entry into professional , distinguishing it from prior informal experiences in .

Career

Early television and theatre roles

Howle's initial foray into theatre occurred through youth and community programs at the Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough, where he engaged in workshops, including clowning, following . His professional debut on stage came in 2003 at age 13, appearing in the world premiere of Alan Ayckbourn's at the same venue as part of its affiliated Rounders youth theatre ensemble. These early experiences laid the groundwork for his formal training at , from which he graduated in 2013, though specific student productions from this period, such as , marked transitional steps toward professional work. Transitioning to television post-graduation, Howle secured minor roles in 2014, including Joseph in the Channel 4 historical drama New Worlds and Billy Shearwood in an episode of ITV's crime series Vera. These preceded his first major television lead as James Warwick, a troubled farmhand entangled in a rural murder investigation, in the E4 youth-oriented mystery series Glue, which aired from September to October 2014 and garnered attention for its ensemble cast and atmospheric storytelling. The role in Glue, written by Jack Thorne, represented Howle's breakthrough in broadcast drama, building on his theatre foundations to establish him in the industry.

Film breakthrough and major projects

Howle's breakthrough in feature films occurred in 2017 with a supporting role as the aboard a in Christopher Nolan's , depicting the evacuation of Allied soldiers from the beaches of during , which earned international attention for its and technical achievements. That same year, he received acclaim for his lead performance as Edward Mayhew, a young physicist navigating a troubled , in , an adaptation of Ian McEwan's novella directed by , opposite , marking his first substantial dramatic lead and showcasing emotional depth in portraying repressed 1960s-era tensions. In 2018, Howle featured in several high-profile productions, including Michael Mayer's , where he played Konstantin opposite and in the Chekhov adaptation, emphasizing themes of and artistic frustration. He portrayed Edward, , in David Mackenzie's historical drama , starring as during Scotland's fight for independence in the . Additional roles that year included the courtier in Josie Rourke's and a minor part in David Robert Mitchell's . Subsequent major projects include a brief but notable appearance as Rey's father in J.J. Abrams' Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker (2019), contributing to the Skywalker saga's conclusion. In 2022, he starred as John Komisar in Malgorzata Szumowska's , a survival thriller based on the true story of rescuer Pam Boiardi () saving a stranded hiker on . More recently, Howle led in the drama Kid Snow, announced around 2023, further establishing his presence in independent cinema.

Recent and upcoming work

In 2024, Howle portrayed Benji Winbury, the troubled son of a wealthy family, in the miniseries The Perfect Couple, a murder mystery adaptation of Elin Hilderbrand's novel that premiered on September 5. He led the Australian sports drama Kid Snow as the eponymous washed-up Irish boxer seeking redemption in 1950s , with the film premiering at the in June 2024 and expanding to U.S. theaters and VOD on February 14, 2025. From September 20 to November 23, 2024, Howle starred as the angry young anti-hero Jimmy Porter in a revival of John Osborne's at London's National Theatre, directed by Tamara Abrahams and co-starring . Howle appears as Yusuf, a young man navigating unrest between Jerusalem and rural Palestine, in the 2025 historical drama Palestine 36, written and directed by Annemarie Jacir; the film, set during the 1936 Arab Revolt against British rule, held its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 6, 2025, with a U.S. trailer released October 23, 2025, and wider distribution pending. He has been cast in the lead role of a B-17 turret gunner in the untitled WWII survival thriller Turret, produced by Noah C. Haeussner and Causeway Pictures, which was announced for sale at the Cannes Marché du Film on May 13, 2025, with principal photography underway but no release date set.

Reception

Critical acclaim and achievements

Howle garnered praise for his lead role as Edward Mayhew in the 2018 adaptation of , directed by , where critics highlighted his ability to convey emotional vulnerability and tragedy's lightness, with calling the performance "astonishing" and a potential star-making turn. His supporting role as Petty Officer in Christopher Nolan's (2017) contributed to the film's technical accolades, including three , though individual notices focused on ensemble intensity rather than solo standout. In television, Howle's portrayal of diplomat Alain Guillermic in the 2021 BBC/Netflix miniseries The Serpent drew acclaim for its quiet tenacity and understated pursuit of justice against a charismatic killer, as noted by The Independent, positioning him as a rising figure in crime drama. His theatre work, including Jimmy Porter in John Osborne's Look Back in Anger at the Almeida Theatre in 2024, received positive reviews for embodying the character's raw odium and vitality, with Tatler describing the interpretation as fiercely compelling in a modern staging. Among formal recognitions, Howle was nominated for Best European Actor at the 2024 Septimius Awards for his overall body of work. In 2025, he earned a nomination from the Film Critics Circle of for his titular role in Kid Snow, a drama centered on isolation and redemption in rural . These nods reflect growing international attention, though he has yet to secure major competitive wins from bodies like the BAFTAs or .

Criticisms and acting challenges

Howle's portrayal of Dutch diplomat Herman Knippenberg in the 2021 BBC/Netflix miniseries The Serpent drew criticism for his handling of the Dutch accent, with reviewers noting it contributed to a perceived lack of authenticity that made the character resemble a "posh twit" despite his prior strong work in films like Dunkirk. Howle himself acknowledged the difficulty, describing intense self-criticism during preparation and readiness to apologize to Dutch audiences for potential inaccuracies. In the 2018 film adaptation of , Howle's performance as the tormented writer Konstantin Treplev was critiqued as weaker compared to the ensemble cast, with the role's unhinged intensity appearing excessive and ill-suited to the cinematic medium, amplifying the character's preposterousness. His depiction of Edward, , in the 2018 film was described in some reviews as mannered and constrained by a cartoonish script, though the sniveling antagonism aligned with the historical figure's reputed petulance. Howle has discussed personal acting challenges, including a predisposition to brooding, introspective roles that evoke a "bit broken and poetic" quality in himself, which he channels but finds emotionally taxing. He has highlighted difficulties in accents and physical demands, as in (2018), where embodying period-specific restraint required overcoming bodily tensions. More recently, diverging from anger-driven characters, such as the affable Benji Winbury in The Perfect Couple (2024), produced an "alien feeling" amid underwritten material that limited depth despite his efforts.

Personal life

Relationships and privacy

Howle has maintained a low profile regarding his romantic relationships, with limited public information available. In interviews promoting the series in February 2022, he alluded to being in a with a girlfriend named Flo Rose, but provided no further details. No subsequent confirmations or updates on this relationship have been reported, and entertainment sources describe him as single with no verified past partners as of available records. As of September 2024, reports suggest he remains privately involved romantically, though his reticence makes confirmation challenging. Howle prioritizes privacy in his personal life, rarely engaging with media inquiries about relationships or family. He has described himself as reserved, aligning with a broader pattern among actors who limit disclosures to protect against public scrutiny. This approach extends to avoiding social media presence focused on personal matters, with no verified accounts sharing intimate details. Interviews, such as those tied to projects like The Serpent and Under the Banner of Heaven, emphasize his professional focus over personal revelations, reinforcing a deliberate boundary between public persona and private affairs.

Views on mental health and society

Howle has reflected on his early experiences with depression and anxiety, describing as an initial escape that served as informal , though he warns that relying on as a mechanism can foster an unhealthy dynamic once it becomes a profession. He has spoken emotionally about elevated rates among young men, linking them to profound that impedes , while noting emerging openness in conversations among peers as a positive shift. To address such issues, Howle conducts workshops for at-risk in pupil referral units, aiming to help them process emotions constructively and avert paths toward incarceration. In discussing roles depicting mental health crises, such as the suicidal character in Infinite Storm (2022), Howle portrays mental health struggles as a pervasive human thread warranting multifaceted, candid public discourse rather than isolation. He has critiqued persistent stigma in professional environments like theatre, where efforts at pastoral care often appear superficial, compelling individuals to conceal personal suffering to maintain productivity. Regarding society, Howle identifies a rebellious, nonconformist essence as fundamental to artistic creation, involving recognition of worldly constraints and resistance to imposed uniformity to safeguard authentic passion. He has highlighted class-based inequities in the acting field, observing that casting processes frequently privilege candidates from upper-middle-class origins, such as , over others regardless of talent. Broader reflections include calls for amid humanity's fleeting and scrutiny of authoritarian embedded in language and power structures.

Filmography

Film roles

Billy Howle's film roles began in 2017 with supporting parts in as young Tony Webster, as Petty Officer, and a lead in as Edward Mayhew. In 2018, he portrayed Konstantin Treplyov in and Edward, , in .
YearTitleRole
2017Young Tony Webster)
2017Petty Officer
2017Edward Mayhew
2018Konstantin Treplyov
2018Edward, Prince of Wales
2019Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker (Rey's father)
2022John
2025Kid SnowKid Snow

Television roles

Howle's television debut came in 2014 with the lead role of James Warwick in the E4 crime drama Glue, an eight-episode series centered on the investigation into a missing teenager in a rural English village, which marked his breakthrough in British television. In 2019, he portrayed Caden Finch in the miniseries , playing the unstable, cocaine-dependent son of a media mogul () and his ex-wife () amid a family power struggle. Howle took on the historical role of Herman Knippenberg, a real-life Dutch embassy official in who pursued , in the 2021 BBC/Netflix miniseries The Serpent. That same year, he appeared as Detective Inspector Nigel Strangeways in the BritBox adaptation The Beast Must Die, supporting a grieving mother's undercover infiltration to identify her son's hit-and-run killer. In 2022, Howle played Elliot Fairbourne, the enigmatic widower of a social media influencer, in the / , exploring themes of obsession and deception. He also starred as Allen Lafferty, the husband of murder victim Lafferty in a 1980s Mormon community, in the FX/Hulu limited series , based on the true-crime investigation into fundamentalist violence. In 2024, Howle depicted Benji Winbury, the groom at the center of a weekend mystery, in Netflix's The Perfect Couple.

Theatre roles

Howle made his professional stage debut in 2003 at the Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough, appearing in the world premiere of Alan Ayckbourn's . His notable theatre roles include the title character in William Shakespeare's at Bristol Old Vic, directed by John Haidar, which ran in 2022 and was later filmed for cinematic release. In 2024, Howle portrayed Nicholas Randall in Dodie Smith's Dear Octopus, a revival directed by Emily Burns at the National Theatre's Lyttelton Theatre, running from 7 February to 27 March, opposite as Dora. That same year, he starred as Jimmy Porter in John Osborne's , directed by Atri Banerjee, as part of the Almeida Theatre's "Angry and Young" season in repertory with Arnold Wesker's from September to November; Howle also appeared in the cast of . Earlier credits encompass Edmund in Eugene O'Neill's Long Day's Journey into Night at Bristol Old Vic and a role in David Greig's Europe at the Donmar Warehouse.

References

  1. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6247071/bio/
  2. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6247071/
  3. https://www.thestage.co.uk/features/actor-billy-howle-i-dont-want-to-start-being-recognised-just-for-being-famous
  4. https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/billy-howle/bio/3000305823/
  5. https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Billy_Howle
  6. https://www.theguardian.com/global/2018/may/20/billy-howle-theres-definitely-something-in-me-that-is-a-bit-broken-and-poetic
  7. https://www.thestage.co.uk/features/features/actor-billy-howle-i-dont-want-to-start-being-recognised-just-for-being-famous
  8. https://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/news/stoke-on-trent-news/serpent-everything-you-need-know-4886354
  9. https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2022/jul/26/im-drawn-to-darker-things-how-billy-howle-became-tvs-hottest-property
  10. https://www.interviewmagazine.com/film/billy-howle
  11. https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/drama/billy-howle-beast-must-die-big-rt-interview/
  12. https://oldvic.ac.uk/alumni/billy-howle/
  13. https://archivingayckbourn.home.blog/2019/05/29/before-they-were-famous/
  14. https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Creator/BillyHowle
  15. https://screenrant.com/billy-howle-best-movies-tv-shows-ranked/
  16. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5013056/
  17. https://deadline.com/2020/01/wme-outlaw-king-the-serpent-billy-howle-1202837105/
  18. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1667321/
  19. https://seventh-row.com/2018/05/25/billy-howle-chesil-beach/
  20. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6679794/
  21. https://www.firstshowing.net/2025/kid-snow-official-trailer-featuring-billy-howle-as-an-irish-boxer-in-oz/
  22. https://deadline.com/2024/05/billy-howle-morfydd-clark-romola-garai-theater-look-back-in-anger-1235924047/
  23. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt29271622/
  24. https://tiff.net/films/palestine-36
  25. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14H4J8bewDY
  26. https://variety.com/2025/film/global/billy-howle-sawyer-spielberg-wwii-survival-thriller-1236395479/
  27. https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/tv/features/billy-howle-interview-the-serpent-b1777585.html
  28. https://www.tatler.com/article/look-back-in-anger-almeida-billy-howle-review
  29. https://septimiusawards.com/nominees2024/
  30. https://www.conwayvangeldergrant.com/actors/billy-howle/
  31. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6247071/awards/
  32. https://www.pastemagazine.com/tv/the-serpent/the-serpent-review
  33. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/serpents-billy-howle-worried-accent-ready-apologise-dutch-people/
  34. https://ericaabeel.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Film-Review_-The-Seagull-_-Film-Journal-International.pdf
  35. https://bookandfilmglobe.com/film/movie-review-outlaw-king/
  36. https://historiamag.com/review-outlaw-king/
  37. https://deadline.com/2024/10/breaking-baz-billy-howle-look-back-in-anger-interview-1236104292/
  38. https://brendanhalpin.com/review-the-perfect-couple-netflix-2024
  39. https://www.thesun.co.uk/tv/6369876/billy-howle-chloe-bbc/
  40. https://www.mylondon.news/news/tv/bbc-chloe-billy-howles-love-23173503
  41. https://www.whosdatedwho.com/dating/billy-howle
  42. https://spoiler.bolavip.com/en/celebrities/billy-howle-love-life
  43. https://www.express.co.uk/showbiz/tv-radio/1560894/Chloe-cast-Billy-Howle-personal-connection-reserved-Elliot
  44. https://airmail.news/arts-intel/highlights/billy-howle-548
  45. https://www.flaunt.com/blog/billy-howle
  46. https://newyorkmoves.com/celeb-profile/billy-howle/
  47. https://www.countryandtownhouse.com/culture/billy-howle-interview/
  48. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4827986/
  49. https://sonyclassics.com/theseagull/
  50. https://deadline.com/2017/08/david-mackenzies-outlaw-king-billy-howle-netflix-1202152073/
  51. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14060232/
  52. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt21053652/
  53. https://www.channel4.com/press/news/interview-billy-howle-glue
  54. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3868832/
  55. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8049666/
  56. https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/mediapacks/motherfatherson/billy/
  57. https://www.express.co.uk/showbiz/tv-radio/1389174/The-Serpent-cast-who-is-Billy-Howle-actor-Herman-Knippenberg-imdb
  58. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7985576/
  59. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9062784/
  60. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14412362/
  61. https://www.fxnetworks.com/shows/under-the-banner-of-heaven/cast/billy-howle-allen-lafferty
  62. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1998372/
  63. https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/the-perfect-couple-cast-guide
  64. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11514868/
  65. https://bristololdvic.org.uk/whats-on/2022/hamlet
  66. https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/proginfo/2023/45/hamlet-bristol-old-vic
  67. https://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/productions/dear-octopus/
  68. https://www.ntathome.com/videos/dear-octopus-full-play
  69. https://almeida.co.uk/whats-on/look-back-in-anger/
  70. https://almeida.co.uk/whats-on/roots/
  71. https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2024/oct/02/look-back-in-anger-roots-review-double-bill-almeida-theatre-london
  72. https://www.londontheatre.co.uk/stars-on-stage/billy-howle
  73. https://www.westendtheatre.com/253967/star-watch/billy-howle/
Add your contribution
Related Hubs
User Avatar
No comments yet.