Trevor Howard

Born: 29 September 1913
Where: Cliftonville, Kent
Died: 7 January 1988

Born in Sri Lanka, but educated in boarding schools in England, Howard hit the London stage in 1934, and it was a further ten years before his film acting debut came along in The Way Ahead.

By the 1940s he excelled at playing debonair officers and gentlemen, carving a niche in his latter years as England's favourite screen autocrat.

It was his 1945 performance opposite Celia Johnson in David Lean's Brief Encounter that brought Howard international praise, and led to work with distinguished directors including Luchino Visconti, Joseph Losey and Tony Richardson.

He also received attention for his starring role in The Third Man in 1949, for Best British Actor for The Key.

In 1958 Howard won the BAFTA for Best British Actor for The Key.