Trevor Wallace Howard-Smith was born in Kent and spent much of his childhood in Ceylon. When the time came for him to be educated he was sent back to England to board at Clifton College. After school he attended RADA and got a walk-on part in the play Revolt in a Reformatory starring Alastair Sim before leaving RADA.
His big theatre break was in the original production of French Without Tears with which he stayed for two years. He was drafted into the army in 1940. He was invalided out in 1943 having seen no action, despite later publicity which implied distinguished service and a Military Cross. Howard always refuted that publicity.
There was no shortage of roles for a young, fit, straight man so Howard was in demand. His theatre work lead to small parts in The Way Ahead and The Way to the Stars. The latter lead to his breakthrough role in Brief Encounter.
The next few years were very productive ones. His screen persona of an ex-public schoolboy roughed up by the reality of war struck a chord with audiences. As the fifties wore on, this persona matured as Howard's portrayals deepened. Stand-out performances in this period include Scobie in The Heart of the Matter and a rare working-class portrayal as Morel in Sons and Lovers.
Inevitably he slid into character roles and cameos as he aged. Though there are a few turkeys in this batch of films, he had a better batting average than most of his contemporaries and it's hard to think of when he gave a bad performance even in the worst film.
He married Helen Cherry in 1944 and remained married to her up to his death.
| 1944 | The Way Ahead |
| 1944 | The Way to the Stars |
| 1946 | Brief Encounter |
| 1946 | I See a Dark Stranger |
| 1946 | Green for Danger |
| 1946 | So Well Remembered |
| 1947 | They Made Me a Fugitive |
| 1948 | Passionate Friends |
| 1949 | The Third Man |
| 1949 | Golden Salamander |
| 1950 | Odette |
| 1951 | The Clouded Yellow |
| 1952 | An Outcast of the Island |
| 1952 | The Gift Horse |
| 1953 | The Heart of the Matter |
| 1954 | The Lovers of Lisbon |
| 1954 | The Stranger's Hand |
| 1955 | Cockleshell Heroes |
| 1956 | Around the World in Eighty Days (U.S.) |
| 1956 | Run for the Sun |
| 1957 | Interpol |
| 1957 | Manuela |
| 1957 | The Key |
| 1959 | Roots of Heaven |
| 1960 | Moment of Danger |
| 1960 | Sons and Lovers |
| 1962 | Mutiny on the Bounty |
| 1962 | The Lion |
| 1946 | The Man in the Middle |
| 1964 | Father Goose |
| 1965 | Von Ryan's Express |
| 1965 | Operation Crossbow |
| 1965 | Morituri |
| 1965 | The Liquidator |
| 1966 | The Poppy is Also a Flower |
| 1966 | Triple Cross |
| 1967 | The Long Duel |
| 1968 | Pretty Polly |
| 1968 | The Charge of the Light Brigade |
| 1968 | The Battle of Britain |
| 1969 | Twinky |
| 1970 | Ryan's Daughter |
| 1971 | The Night Visitor |
| 1971 | Catch me a Spy |
| 1972 | Mary Queen of Scots |
| 1972 | Kidnapped |
| 1972 | Pope Joan |
| 1972 | Ludwig |
| 1972 | The Offence |
| 1973 | Craze |
| 1973 | A Doll's House |
| 1974 | Persecution |
| 1974 | Harrowhouse 11 |
| 1974 | Who? |
| 1975 | Death in the Sun |
| 1975 | Conduct Unbecoming |
| 1975 | Hennessy |
| 1976 | The Bawdy Adventures of Tom Jones |
| 1976 | Eliza Fraser |
| 1976 | Aces High |
| 1977 | Slaves |
| 1977 | The Last Remake of Beau Geste |
| 1977 | Stevie |
| 1978 | Superman |
| 1979 | Hurricane |
| 1979 | Meteor |
| 1980 | The Sea Wolves |
| 1980 | Windwalker |
| 1981 | Light Years Away |
| 1982 | Ghandi |
| 1982 | The Missionary |
| 1982 | Sir Henry at Rawlinson End |
| 1984 | Sword of the Valiant |
| 1985 | Foreign Body |
| 1987 | White Mischief |
| 1987 | The Unholy |
| 1988 | The Dawning |
