Howard recently starred in Lars von Trier's Manderlay, the filmmaker's follow-up to Dogville. The film also stars Lauren Bacall, Chloe Sevigny, Danny Glover and Jeremy Davies, and premiered at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival. Howard will next star opposite Kevin Kline in Kenneth Branagh's film adaptation of the Shakespeare classic As You Like It.

After leaving the Tisch School of the Arts program at New York University, Howard immediately began working on the New York stage, including playing the role of Marianne in the Roundabout's Broadway production of Tartuffe, Rosalind in the Public Theatre's As You Like It, Sally Platt in the Manhattan Theater Club's production of Alan Ayckbourn's House/Garden and as Emily in the Bay Street Theater Festival production of "Our Town."