Roger Howarth

Roger Howarth Biography

Roger Howarth (born September 13, 1968) is an American actor. He portrayed character Todd Manning on the daytime drama One Life to Live, which became an iconic fixture in the genre's medium, and earned Howarth a Daytime Emmy Award. He left the series in 2003, but returned in May 2011, eventually deciding to continue the role on General Hospital in March 2012. He currently portrays Franco on General Hospital, the character formerly created and portrayed by James Franco.

In addition to his work on One Life to Live and General Hospital, Howarth has guest starred in television shows such as Prey and Dawson's Creek, and starred on the daytime drama As the World Turns in the role of Paul Ryan.

Early life

Roger Howarth was born in Westchester County, New York. His father was involved in theater and wrote plays. Exposed to the arts at an early age, Howarth performed in the play The Grand Duke at the age of seven. He was active in his high school drama department, and performed in numerous plays at school. He played soccer from the time he was a small child up until 19 years of age. He took the opportunity to play in other countries with the Puma Shoes U.S. National Soccer Team. In an interview, when asked if he was a professional soccer player, Howarth answered, "No! Heavens no." He reiterated how he had played soccer as a child up to his late teenage years, and said he was on a team that played in Europe, Brazil, and other countries, but that it was an amateur team; he "never got paid" to play, he said.

Howarth initially resisted acting as a profession, and studied political science at George Washington University. However, after one semester, he dropped out of college to join an intense acting program at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre Center in Connecticut.

Career

Howarth was discovered during a nationwide talent search, and was cast in the role of Kent Winslow on the ABC daytime drama Loving. The role was short-lived. It was shortly after this that he was cast on the fellow ABC daytime drama One Life to Live as Todd Manning, in what was supposed to be a day-player role but became one of the genre's most successful and enduring characters. Howarth has portrayed Todd on-and-off since 1992. He was strongly praised for his work on the series, and won a Daytime Emmy Award in 1994. Subsequent attempts to rehabilitate the rapist character of Todd, however, unnerved Howarth. After a female fan shouted "Rape me, Todd!" at a public appearance, his ambivalence about the role deepened. After attempts were made to pair Todd and the woman he raped, Marty Saybrooke, as a romantic couple, Howarth quit the show in 1995. He subsequently returned, but Todd was portrayed even more as a villain than a hero. His character's pairing with Kassie DePaiva's Blair Cramer won over fans and the two later became a supercouple. While with the series, Howarth found time to extend his career to prime time, and was cast as the murderous Randall Lynch for 4 episodes of the sci-fi series Prey.

In 1998, Howarth departed One Life to Live for a second time. He looked to pursue other acting projects both on Broadway and in Hollywood. He made his first Broadway debut in The White Rose, but also did some theater work in Henry IV, Passions, You Touched Me, Mother Courage, and Orestes. A prominent stage appearance for Howarth was in James Goldman's Broadway production of The Lion In Winter. The play officially opened on Broadway on March 11, 1999 and ended with "its final curtain" on May 30, 1999. During the play's run, Howarth appeared alongside Stockard Channing and Laurence Fishburne.

In 2000, Howarth returned to One Life to Live. He portrayed Professor Greg Hetson on the series Dawson's Creek in 2003 during a brief break from the role of Todd. Later that year, he decided it was time for him to move on from the role of Todd, and he signed on with the CBS daytime drama As the World Turns, taking over the role of Paul Ryan in July 2003.

In August 2010, it was reported that Howarth would be returning to One Life to Live some time in January 2011, though other sources disputed this. On April 4, 2011, it was confirmed that Howarth would be returning to the series. Before reclaiming his previous role, it was initially unknown if he would be returning as Todd or someone connecting him to the character. "I am looking forward to returning to One Life to Live," stated Howarth. "We are going to have a lot of fun telling this story, and I am excited to see how it will unfold." Howarth made his onscreen return on May 13, 2011.

Howarth, Michael Easton and Kristen Alderson appeared on General Hospital from 2012-2013. Their characters of Todd Manning, John McBain and Starr Manning will return to One Life to Live and likely be recast with new actors with the current actors receiving new characters once they return to General Hospital. Prospect Park currently owns the rights to all One Life to Live characters; TV Guide reported that because ABC does not want to risk any further legal disputes with Prospect Park concerning the characters, the only way to avoid such disputes may be to have the former One Life to Live actors portray "characters that in no way resemble the current ones" in order to stay on General Hospital. ABC announced that the actors would be returning to General Hospital on May 13 2013, but without naming the characters they will portray. Howarth will also continue to portray Todd Manning on Prospect Park's online version of One Life to Live.

On May 29, 2013, Howarth's new character on General Hospital was revealed; he was cast as Franco, essentially recasting James Franco's original character. Howarth is listed as a full-time contract cast member.

Personal life

Howarth met actress Cari Stahler in New York City, when he lived above the café where she worked. She asked him out on a date, which took place at Coney Island. The two later fell in love and married. Howarth and Stahler have a son, Julian (born July 1992), and a daughter.

Filmography

Californication (2014)
General Hospital as Franco (2013")
General Hospital as Todd Manning (2012"2013)
One Life to Live as Todd Manning (1992"1995, 1996"1998, 2000"2003, 2011"2012, 2013")
As the World Turns as Paul Ryan (2003"2010)
Dawson's Creek as Professor Gregory Hetson (2002"2003)
Prey as Randall Lynch (1998)
Diagnosis Murder as Real Bad Radio Host (1996)
Loving as Kent Winslow (1992)
Guiding Light as Jory Andros (1992)
Liebestraum as Boy in Rain (1991)

Awards and nominations

Year	Group	Award	Result	Project
1994	Daytime Emmy Award	Outstanding Younger Actor in a Drama Series	Won	One Life to Live
1994	Soap Opera Digest Award	Outstanding Villain/Villainess	Nominated
1995	Daytime Emmy Award	Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series	Nominated
1995	Soap Opera Digest Award	Outstanding Younger Lead Actor	Won
1998	Soap Opera Digest Award	Outstanding Villain	Won
2001	Soap Opera Digest Award	Outstanding Lead Actor	Nominated
2002	Daytime Emmy Award	America's Favorite Villain (Special Fan Award)	Nominated
2003	Soap Opera Digest Award	Outstanding Lead Actor	Nominated
2004	Daytime Emmy Award	Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series	Nominated	As the World Turns
2005	Daytime Emmy Award	Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series	Nominated
2005	Soap Opera Digest Award	Outstanding Lead Actor	Nominated