Roger Howarth - Career

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 is perhaps best remembered for his portrayal of Todd, a role he portrayed on-and-off from 1992 to 2003. 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.