Date of Birth: March 11, 1969

After graduating from the Pratt Institute with a degree in chemical engineering, Howard started his career on the small screen where he first nabbed a small appearance on the series Family Matters and Coach. Other opportunities followed with a showing on Picket Fences and a role in the telefilm, The Jacksons: An American Dream.

With all his credits, it wasn't until 1995 that he first caught viewers' attention as a despicable cowboy in the drama Dead Presidents (1995). He then moved onto Mr. Holland's Opus (1995), playing Louis Russ. Although the character was originally penned for a white actor, after seeing Howard in a guest role on Coach, the director decided he was the actor for the part. Howard, who had already made a deal to work on a German miniseries, took a huge pay cut to perform in the film. But all was not lost, because the film allowed Howard to meet and learn from Richard Dreyfuss, who gave him invaluable information on the film industry.

In 1996 Howard landed a starring role in the sitcom, Sparks. Unfortunately, the show didn't garner much interest with the viewers, and was canceled by the end of its second season.

Three years later, he stole the spotlight playing Quentin in the film The Best Man (1999). As a supporting character, he received nominations from Chicago Film Critics Association and the Independent Spirits Awards and won an Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor.

The next year he landed the role of Cassius Clay in the telefilm, King of the World, which was soon followed by a number of major roles in feature films like Big Momma's House with Martin Lawrence and Angel Eyes, starring Jennifer Lopez. In 2002, he won a Black Reel award as Best Supporting Actor in the TV movie Boycott. Since then, he has played roles in Hart's War (2002) alongside Colin Farrell, Biker Boyz (2003) with Laurence Fishburne, and Ray (2004) with Jamie Foxx.

In 2005, he received a National Board of Review Award for Best Breakthrough Performance in the Academy Award winning Best Picture Crash (2004), then in 2006, received nominations from both the Golden Globes and the Academy Awards for his work in Hustle & Flow (2005).

Filmography:

The Crusaders (2009)
Iron Man (2008)
Perfect Christmas (2007)
Awake (2007)
August Rush (2007)
The Brave One (2007)
Pride (2007)
Idlewild (2006)
Get Rich or Die Trying' (2005)
Four Brothers (2005)
The Salon (2005)
Hustle & Flow (2005)
Crash (2005)
Ray (2004)
Love Chronicles (2003)
Biker Boyz (2003)
Hart's War (2002)
Investigating Sex (2001)
Glitter (2001)
Angel Eyes (2001)
Love Beat the Hell Outta Me (2000)
Big Momma's House (2000)
The Best Man (1999)
Best Laid Plans (1999)
Valerie Flake (1999)
Butter (1998)
The Players Club (1998)
Spark (1998)
Double Tap (1997)
Johns (1996)
Sunset Park (1996)
Lotto Land (1996)
Mr. Holland's Opus (1995)
Dead Presidents (1995)
Who's the Man? (1993)