Neva Howell

Acting

Born October 31, 1955 · Manchester, Tennessee

Neva attended acting school in New York and spent a few years in Los Angeles, where she studies with some terrific teachers like Stephen Tobolowsky and Lisa Dalton. She also completed round one of The Groundlings training with Patrick Bristow. Though Neva attended many classes during her stay, she considers these three to be highlights of her time in Los Angeles. Appeared as Ma Kent in Superman (2025). Before that, she played Ms. Crawford in Greedy People (2024) and the gruff Miss Roberts in Ghosts of the Ozarks (2021). In addition, Neva was a rather racist clerk named Gina in Burden (2018), which won Audience Award, dramatic, at Sundance 2018. Neva has enjoyed a wide range of mostly small town characters in her 30+ year career. She was Salt-of-the-earth Alma in Mercy Street (2016). She can be heard delivering an inside Steven Soderbergh joke (subtle, did you catch it?) in Logan (2017). She worried about a boy and a pig in Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul (2017) and appeared as an impatient bus driver with in episode 5 of the final season of The Originals (2013). Mean nurses seemed a theme for a while, including Martha in Run the Race (2018) and Dee Dee in The Common Good (2017). However, Neva loves comedy. She is Sister Eleanor in Novitiate (2017) and the hard-nosed waitress in The King Has Left the Building (2016). Neva loves bringing life to small, interesting parts. It's like polishing a little diamond in a big necklace of precious gems. Neva's passions include holistic health and wellness education. She was a full-time healing facilitator for many years. She looks at life through a spiritual lens. Her greatest desire for her career is that she be invited to inhabit roles in films that want to make a positive difference on earth. That being said, she knows illuminating what's negative is sometimes a strong route to understanding and positive shift.