Sunday, April 11, 2010

50 Greatest Soap Actors: #29 Roger Howarth

NAME: Roger Howarth
RANK: 29
SOAP ROLES: Paul Ryan, AS THE WORLD TURNS (2003-present); Todd Manning, ONE LIFE TO LIVE (1992-1998, 2000-2003); Jory, GUIDING LIGHT (1992); Kent Winslow, LOVING (1992)

AWARDS:
2005 Daytime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series
2001 Soap Opera Digest Award nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor
2004 Daytime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series
2001 Soap Opera Digest Award nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor
2002 Daytime Emmy Special Fan Award nomination for America's Favorite Villain
2001 Soap Opera Digest Award nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor
1998 Soap Opera Digest Award win for Outstanding Villain
1995 Daytime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
1995 Soap Opera Digest Award win for Outstanding Younger Lead Actor
1994 Daytime Emmy win for Outstanding Younger Leading Actor in a Drama Series
1994 Soap Opera Digest Award nomination for Outstanding Villain/Villainess

COMMENTS FROM THE PANEL:
Damon L. Jacobs: How did "Frat Boy #1" become an overnight Emmy-winning fan sensation in 1993?  It is because of Roger Howarth's complete and utterly fearless commitment to his characterizations of damaged men on ONE LIFE TO LIVE and AS THE WORLD TURNS.  It may be commonplace now on soaps to pedestalize criminals, but before Howarth's unapologetic and defiant portrayal of Todd Manning, the heroes on shows were people who actually tried to do good things for others.  He paved the way for the young long-haired scenery-chewing actors that every soap has employed ever since.  You may want to hug him or you may want to hit him, but one thing you can never ever do with Howarth is look away.

Nelson Aspen: Both Todd Manning and Paul Ryan suffered from erratic writing, asking a lot from the viewers in terms of believability. However, Roger's earnest commitment to any scene he plays sustains our interest through even the most inane storylines and/or romantic pairings.

3 comments:

  1. Roger is ranked too low, but no surprise here! Kudos to RH, his awards and achievements speak for themselves! For many of us, he will always be #1 in active soap actors. Thanks!

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  2. Roger is #1 - they accidently dropped his name under 28 other actors :)

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