Although he did not get along with Marlon Brando while filming Mutiny on the Bounty (1962), he and Keith McConnell were largely responsible for helping Brando win a lawsuit against a British newspaper.
He allegedly declined to receive a British honor of knighthood.
He was a close friend of Jack Hawkins and Kenneth More.
He was a close friend of Sir David Lean, who regretted that Howard was not young enough to play James Fox's role in A Passage to India (1984).
He was offered the key role of Edgar Trent (Alan Webb) in The Great Train Robbery (1979).