1. Overview
Leslie Richard "Arliss" Howard (born October 18, 1954) is an American actor, screenwriter, and film director. Throughout his extensive career, Howard has established himself through a diverse range of roles in both film and television, and has also contributed significantly behind the camera as a director and writer. He is widely recognized for his performances in films such as Full Metal Jacket, The Lost World: Jurassic Park, The Time Traveler's Wife, Moneyball, and Mank.
2. Early life and education
Arliss Howard was born in Independence, Missouri. He pursued higher education at Columbia College, where he earned a degree in English literature. Before fully committing to his acting career, Howard gained varied life experiences, including working in the Wyoming oil industry, living and working on a New Mexico ranch, and residing in Hawaii.
3. Career
Arliss Howard's career spans acting, directing, and screenwriting, showcasing his versatility across different creative fields. He has made significant contributions to both film and television, earning critical recognition for his performances and also directing several projects, often collaborating with his brother, James Howard, and his wife, Debra Winger.
3.1. Acting Career
Howard has built a notable acting career with a wide array of roles in both film and television. Early in his film career, he gained recognition for his roles in Full Metal Jacket (1987), Tequila Sunrise (1988), Men Don't Leave (1990), Ruby (1992), and Natural Born Killers (1994). In 1997, he appeared in two films directed by Steven Spielberg: he portrayed the billionaire John Hammond's nephew, Peter Ludlow, in The Lost World: Jurassic Park, and U.S. Vice President John C. Calhoun in Amistad.
Other significant film roles include Plain Clothes (1988) where he played Nick Dunbar, For the Boys (1991) as Dixie's Husband Sergeant Michael Leonard, CrissCross (1992) as Joe, Wilder Napalm (1993) as Wilder Foudroyant, and an uncredited role as Older Scotty Smalls in The Sandlot (1993). He also appeared in To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar (1995) as Virgil, Johns (1996) as John Cardoza, The Lesser Evil (1998) as Ivan Williams, and A Map of the World (1999) as Paul Reverdy. Later film appearances include Dandelion (2004) as Luke Mullich, Birth (2004) as Bob, Weapons (2006) as Mikey's Uncle, Awake (2007) as Dr. Jonathan Neyer, The Time Traveler's Wife (2009) as Richard DeTamble, and Moneyball (2011) as John Henry. More recently, he appeared in Concussion (2015) as Dr. Joseph Maroon, The Boy Downstairs (2017) as Diana's Father, Lapsis (2020) as Dr. Mangold, Mank (2020) as Louis B. Mayer, and The Killer (2023) as Henderson "Clay" Claybourne, the Client. He also has a role in the upcoming film The Thicket, which is in post-production.
In television, Howard had a recurring role as Captain Kenneth Push in the CBS weekly drama series Medium from 2005 to 2007, appearing in four episodes. In 2010, he played Kale Ingram, a supervisor at an American intelligence agency, in the TV series Rubicon, which ran for 13 episodes on AMC. He was also part of the main cast in Season 6 of True Blood (2013) as Truman Burrell and in Manhunt: Deadly Games (2020) as Earl Embry. Other television appearances include an uncredited role as a policeman in The Incredible Hulk (1979), Danny Madden in AfterMASH (1983), Phil Platt in Hill Street Blues (1984), and a stranger in The Twilight Zone (1985). He also appeared in numerous television movies, such as A Killer in the Family (1983) as John Lyons, The Day After (1983) as Tom Cooper, Hands of a Stranger (1987) as Felix Lyttle, Somebody Has to Shoot the Picture (1990) as Raymond Eames, Till Death Us Do Part (1992) as Vincent Bugliosi, Those Secrets (1992) as Simon, The Infiltrator (1995) as Ricky Eaton, The Man Who Captured Eichmann (1996) as Peter Malkin, Beyond the Call (1996) as Keith O'Brien, Old Man (1997) as J.J. Taylor, You Know My Name (1999) as Wiley, The Song of the Lark (2001) as Dr. Howard Archie, and Word of Honor (2003) as J.D. Runnells. In 2017, he appeared as Theodore Olson in the episode "Part IV" of When We Rise, and in 2021, he played Larry in two episodes of Mr. Corman. Howard was nominated for two CableACE Awards for his roles in Somebody Has to Shoot the Picture and The Man Who Captured Eichmann, winning for the former. In June 2020, he joined the cast of a CBS political drama pilot titled Ways & Means alongside Patrick Dempsey.
Howard has extensive stage credits, including a role in the 2009 Broadway revival of August Wilson's Joe Turner's Come and Gone. He has appeared in several productions at the American Repertory Theater (ART) in Cambridge, Massachusetts, such as Paula Vogel's How I Learned to Drive, in which he starred with his wife Debra Winger, and Bertolt Brecht's In the Jungle of the Cities, directed by Robert Woodruff. His stage work also includes playing Mikhail Lvovich Astrov in Anton Chekhov's Uncle Vanya and Nikolai Ivanov in Chekhov's Ivanov, with Debra Winger playing the role of Anna.
3.2. Directing and Screenplay
Beyond his acting roles, Arliss Howard has also made contributions as a film director and screenwriter. He directed and starred in the film Big Bad Love (2001), which he also co-wrote with his brother, James Howard. His wife, Debra Winger, also starred in the film. He similarly directed and starred in the 2005 television movie Dawn Anna, which focuses on the Columbine High School massacre and was also co-written with James Howard. Debra Winger again starred in this project. In 2021, he directed and wrote the segment "Still Life" for the film With/In: Volume 2. Howard has also directed several episodes of the CBS series Medium, in which he had a recurring role.
4. Personal life
Arliss Howard is married to actress Debra Winger. He has two sons: Sam Howard, born in 1987, from his previous marriage to talent agent Karen Sellars, and Gideon "Babe" Howard, born in 1997, with Debra Winger.
5. Filmography
5.1. Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | The Prodigal | Scott Stuart | |
| 1986 | The Lightship | Eddie | |
| 1987 | Full Metal Jacket | Sergeant 'Cowboy' Evans | |
| 1988 | Tequila Sunrise | Gregg Lindroff | |
| Plain Clothes | Nick Dunbar | Lead role | |
| 1990 | Men Don't Leave | Charles Simon | |
| 1991 | For the Boys | Dixie's Husband Sergeant Michael Leonard | |
| 1992 | CrissCross | Joe | |
| Ruby | Maxwell | ||
| 1993 | Wilder Napalm | Wilder Foudroyant | |
| The Sandlot | Older Scotty Smalls | Uncredited | |
| 1994 | Natural Born Killers | Owen Traft, Mickey & Mallory's Guardian Angel / The Demon | |
| 1995 | To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar | Virgil | |
| Wet | Bruce Lomann | Short film | |
| 1996 | Johns | John Cardoza | |
| Tales of Erotica | Bruce Lomann | Re-release of "Wet" as a segment | |
| 1997 | Amistad | John C. Calhoun | |
| The Lost World: Jurassic Park | Peter Ludlow | ||
| 1998 | The Lesser Evil | Ivan Williams | |
| 1999 | A Map of the World | Paul Reverdy | |
| 2001 | Big Bad Love | Barlow | Also director and writer |
| 2004 | Dandelion | Luke Mullich | |
| Birth | Bob | ||
| 2006 | Weapons | Mikey's Uncle | |
| 2007 | Awake | Dr. Jonathan Neyer | |
| 2009 | The Time Traveler's Wife | Richard DeTamble | |
| 2011 | Moneyball | John Henry | |
| 2015 | Concussion | Dr. Joseph Maroon | |
| 2017 | The Boy Downstairs | Diana's Father | |
| 2020 | Lapsis | Dr. Mangold | |
| Mank | Louis B. Mayer | ||
| 2021 | With/In: Volume 2 | Segment: "Still Life"; also director and writer | |
| 2023 | The Killer | Henderson "Clay" Claybourne, the Client | |
| 2024 | The Thicket | Post-production |
5.2. Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | The Incredible Hulk | Policeman | Episode: "The Disciple" |
| 1983 | AfterMASH | Danny Madden | Episode: "September of '53/Together Again" |
| A Killer in the Family | John Lyons | TV movie | |
| The Day After | Tom Cooper | TV movie | |
| 1984 | Hill Street Blues | Phil Platt | Episode: "Bangladesh Slowly" |
| 1985 | The Twilight Zone | Stranger | Episode: "Healer/Children's Zoo/Kentucky Rye" |
| 1987 | Hands of a Stranger | Felix Lyttle | TV movie |
| 1989 | I Know My First Name Is Steven | Kenneth Parnell | Miniseries (uncredited) |
| 1990 | Somebody Has to Shoot the Picture | Raymond Eames | TV movie |
| 1992 | Till Death Us Do Part | Vincent Bugliosi | TV movie |
| Those Secrets | Simon | TV movie | |
| 1995 | The Infiltrator | Ricky Eaton | TV movie |
| 1996 | The Man Who Captured Eichmann | Peter Malkin | TV movie |
| Beyond the Call | Keith O'Brien | TV movie | |
| 1997 | Old Man | J.J. Taylor | TV movie |
| 1999 | You Know My Name | Wiley | TV movie |
| 2001 | The Song of the Lark | Dr. Howard Archie | TV movie |
| 2003 | Word of Honor | J.D. Runnells | TV movie |
| 2005 | Dawn Anna | Physical Therapist | TV movie; also director |
| 2005-2007 | Medium | Captain Kenneth Push | 4 episodes |
| 2010 | Rubicon | Kale Ingram | 13 episodes |
| 2013 | True Blood | Truman Burrell | Season 6, main cast |
| 2017 | When We Rise | Theodore Olson | Episode: "Part IV" |
| 2020 | Manhunt: Deadly Games | Earl Embry | Main cast |
| 2021 | Mr. Corman | Larry | 2 episodes |