Howard Fine

Early life

Fine was born in Providence, Rhode Island, he is the youngest of five children. His parents, Max, an American GI, and Nelly, a Holocaust survivor, were married in Shanghai before returning to the U.S. Due to a fluke scheduling conflict between French and German classes, Fine ended up taking his first theater class in high school. Fine's drama teacher spotted his directing talent and entrusted him with his first play to direct, Edward Albee's The Sandbox, at the age of 16. He was first introduced to the work of his mentor, Uta Hagen, while in high school. Fine's high school drama teacher taught from Hagen's first book, Respect for Acting, and would eventually take his class to New York City to watch classes at Hagen's studio. Fine and Hagen remained close friends until her death.

Early career

Fine completed his BA in Communication/Theatre at Rhode Island College. After completing graduate school in Boston, Fine moved to New York City, where he landed his first teaching job at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy. After one semester of teaching, he was promoted to head of the Acting Department at the age of 24, making him the youngest head in the studio’s history.

Acting teacher

In 1985, Fine moved to Los Angeles with his best friend, voice coach David Coury. Fine began his career in Los Angeles by privately coaching students in his living room, but in 1988, he had to expand to accommodate his growing classes. His studio relocated four times before occupying its present location, 317 N. LaBrea Ave at Beverly Blvd. Fine received recognition for his teaching in 2006 when named "Best Acting Teacher in Los Angeles" in Back Stage West's "Best of Los Angeles" issue. At his LA Studio, Howard currently teaches the Foundation course, as well as several sections of ongoing scene study. He also offers annual masterclasses in Sydney, Australia, and at his studio in Melbourne, Australia. Howard is an adjunct faculty member for the University of Texas Austin's Theater & Dance Department , and teaches students from various college/conservatory programs at his studio in Los Angeles.

Theater director

In addition to being an acting coach, Fine is also an accomplished theatre director. He directed Michael Chiklis in his Broadway debut in Rob Becker's Defending the Caveman. He recently directed Elizabeth Berkley, Ally Sheedy, and Rachel Dratch in David Lindsay-Abaire's That Other Person as part of the best of the 24-hour plays on Broadway. He won a Drama-logue award and received an Ovation Award nomination for his direction of Billy Campbelll in Fortinbras.

Author

Fine is the author of Fine on Acting: A Vision of the Craft, from Havenhurst Books. In the book, Fine offers specifics on the acting technique he has taught for over twenty-five years. The book also features a forward by actor Michael Chiklis.

For five consecutive years, Fine has been asked by the Los Angeles Times to analyze the acting of the Oscar nominees. His Oscar commentary has been featured on Entertainment Tonight, Extra, Access Hollywood, E, Sky TV, BBC, and CNN. In addition to the Los Angeles Times, Fine has been quoted in The Times, The Christian Science Monitor, and USA Today Weekend, and has spoken on numerous radio shows nationwide.

Reality television

Fine has appeared as himself in numerous reality shows, including Dance Moms, Confessions of a Teen Idol, Next Action Star, The Anna Nicole Show, MTV's The Big Picture, It Girls, Twenty Four-Seven, and on many E! True Hollywood Story and Biography episodes. He also appeared as himself in the film Spiritual Warriors.

Charitable works

Fine's favorite charity is Project Angel Food. He directed 10 consecutive years of the critically acclaimed benefit Divas Simply Singing, which featured such artists as Roberta Flack, Tina Arena, Melissa Manchester, The Pussycat Dolls, Whoopi Goldberg and Sharon Stone. He, along with Producer Paul Papile, created In Concert, which benefits Project Angel Food and has featured such artists as Deborah Gibson, Michael Chiklis, James Belushi, Sam Harris, and Tisha Campbell-Martin.