Leo Howard

Leo Howard (born July 13, 1997) is an American actor, model and martial artist. Beginning his martial arts training at the age of four and an acting career at the age of seven, Howard is known for incorporating his karate skills into his feature film and television roles; as "Young Snake Eyes" in the 2009 action film, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, as "Young Conan" in the 2011 fantasy film, Conan the Barbarian and stars as "Jack" on the Disney XD comedy series, Kickin' It. He has also had a recurring role, Logan Hunter, on Disney Channel's Shake it Up. --- Leo Howard was born on July 13, 1997 in Newport Beach, California, the son of Randye and Todd "The Big Bulldog" Howard. His parents are professional dog breeders and operate The Big Bulldog Ranch, where they specialize in breeding English and French bulldogs. Howard attended Tri-City Christian Schools in Vista, California and spent much of his childhood growing up in the small town of Fallbrook in Northern San Diego County, before devoting himself to a full-time acting career. Howard developed an interest in martial arts at the age of three, and began studying at the age of four when his parents enrolled him at a dojo in Oceanside, California. A year later, his parents enrolled him at another dojo which specialized in the Okinawan discipline of Shōrin-ryū and at the age of seven, he began developing his extreme martial arts skills by adding gymnastics to his routine. Howard began training under martial arts world champion Matt Mullins when Mullins made an exception allowing Howard to become the youngest student in his class. By the age of eight, Howard had won three world championships. His specialty is Shōrin-ryū, in which he holds a black belt. At the age of nine, Howard became the youngest member to perform with Mullins' Sideswipe Performance Team, a traveling martial arts-based group that entertains audiences across the country with a combination of martial arts, dance and acrobatics. In June 2011, Howard spoke of the experience performing with Sideswipe – "I think that's what really got me addicted to performing. My role changed as I've grown as a performer and just plain grown. I was OK, I wasn't that great at the start, so they would do cool moves and then poof! Here'd be this cute kid running out there to do some karate. But for the last couple of years I've been one of the main performers." --- From a young age, Howard was a fan of Bruce Lee and Chuck Norris films, and admired their ability to incorporate martial arts into their acting. At the age of seven, Howard told his mother that he wanted to be an actor. It was at a martial arts tournament that Howard was first spotted by someone who thought he had the looks to go into show business and referred him to their talent agent. This led to work as a model for print advertorials and then as an actor in commercials. In 2010, Howard remembered his excitement about breaking into show business, saying – "The commercials were just insane to me. Getting a commercial was like getting a lead role in a movie to me." In 2005, Howard made his television debut shortly before his eighth birthday with a small guest-starring role on the USA Network series, Monk dressed as a "little karate kid" for Halloween, his one line in the episode being "Maybe he's afraid of karate". Howard would spend the next several years performing with Sideswipe Performance Team before returning to acting in 2009. --- Howard is home-schooled to accommodate his busy work schedule on Kickin' It and spends most of his time living in the Howard family's home in Studio City, California when he's working, but says he still considers his childhood town of Fallbrook home. Howard's hobbies include cooking, playing guitar and collecting antique weapons, including swords and knives. The centerpiece of his collection being the big "Conan" sword that was presented to him after filming was completed on Conan the Barbarian.