Peter Howitt Biography

Date of Birth: May 5, 1957

Originally from Manchester, England, Howitt began his career as a television actor, playing roles in a number of British series and telefilms. Early in the 1990s, he began landing roles on the big screen, including In the Name of the Father (1993) and Some Mother's Son (1996).

Howitt also appeared on stage, performing roles in two plays by Harold Pinter: The Caretaker and Party Time.

In 1998, Howitt moved behind the camera to direct a film based on a screenplay he wrote himself, Sliding Doors, starring Gwyneth Paltrow. The film demonstrated the events in a woman's life when time reverses itself for a few seconds and a second version of herself is created. The two lives run in parallel while showing how her life's outcome would be completely different, based on whether she missed a train or not. The film was a huge success, becoming one of the most popular British films of all time. The feature won Howitt a European Film Award for his screenplay and the Empire Award for Best British Director.

Howitt began the millenium by directing and appearing in the thriller, AntiTrust (2001), starring Ryan Phillippe, Tim Robbins and Rachel Leigh Cook. Howitt won a Golden Goblet at the Shanghai International Film Festival for Best Director and Best Film. He next directed an episode of the Showtime series Going to California, before returning to the big screen with Johnny English (2003), starring Rowan Atkinson and John Malkovich.

Married since 2001, he and wife Lorraine have a son named Luke.

Filmography:

Laws of Attraction (2004)
Johnny English (2003)
AntiTrust (2001)
Sliding Doors (1998)