William Walter Douglas Howle 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).
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Early life and education
William Walter Douglas Howle was born in Scarborough, North Yorkshire. His mother Allison was a school teacher and his father Tim was a music professor and composer.
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.
Career
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.
Howle appeared in the war film Dunkirk, and starred alongside Saoirse Ronan in the film On Chesil Beach, an adaptation of Ian McEwan's novel. He also appeared in the Netflix film Outlaw King.
Howle was the face of Prada S/S16, shot by Craig McDean in 2017, and appeared in the film adaptation of Anton Chekhov's The Seagull in the same year.
In 2019, Howle starred alongside Richard Gere and Helen McCrory in the BBC drama series MotherFatherSon, which was written by Tom Rob Smith. He made a cameo appearance in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker as Rey's father.
In 2021, he starred in the BBC series The Serpent 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. 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. 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.
In 2024, Howle portrayed a 1970s boxer in Kid Snow, and starred in the Netflix limited series The Perfect Couple as Benji Winbury, the son of the rich family. The long-delayed Sweet Dreams was set to start filming in October 2024. In October 2024, he performed on stage in a production of Look Back in Anger at the Almeida Theatre in London.
In May 2025, it was announced that Howle would star in a forthcoming World War II survival drama film titled Turret.
Personal life
Howle is actively involved in Pro-Palestine causes and advocated for a ceasefire in the Gaza war. 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."
Filmography
Stage
The Little Mermaid (2014)
Ghosts (2015)
Long Day's Journey Into Night, Bristol Old Vic (2016)
Europe, Donmar Warehouse (2018)
Hamlet, Bristol Old Vic (2022)
Dear Octopus, National Theatre, Lyttelton (2024)
Look Back in Anger, Almeida Theatre (2024)
Roots, Almeida Theatre (2024)
