7 Things to Know About Leo Howard, Days of our Lives’ New Tate Black

Leo Howard starts his run as Days of our Lives’ Tate Black with a clean slate. He replaces Jamie Martin Mann, who left the soap to focus on college full-time, just as the character was released from rehab and had all charges regarding Holly’s drug overdose dropped against him.

Leo Howard Joins Days of our Lives

The actor, who debuts on Friday, April 5, delves into daytime with some serious credits under his belt. He starred as Jack Brewer in the Disney XD comedy series Kickin’ It (2011-2015), and played Young Conan in the 2011 film Conan the Barbarian and Young Snake-Eyes in the 2009 action feature G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra.

Want to learn more about the actor? Here are seven things to know about Leo Howard:

1. A California native, Howard was born in Newport Beach and raised in Fallbrook. He’s the only child of Randye and Todd Howard, professional dog breeders who operate The Big Bulldog Ranch. His dad also co-produced and starred in the Spike TV series, World’s Worst Tenants.

2. He is a talented martial artist. A huge fan of Bruce Lee, he started studying martial arts when he was five, and soon added extreme martial arts and gymnastics to his routine. By the time he was eight, he won three world championships. He has a black belt in Shorin Ryu, his specialty. Howard also became the youngest person to perform with the Mullins Sideswipe traveling martial arts group, when he was nine.

3.Howard made his television debut at the age of seven in 2005. He was credited as “Little Karate Kid” in an episode of the series, Monk. He played a child dressed up for Halloween and had one line, “Maybe he’s afraid of karate.”

4. What was Howard’s first steady job? He landed a stint interviewing celebrities as “Leo Little” on Leo Little Big Show in 2009. The Disney Channel short-form talk show series featured a “brother and sister” (Genevieve Hannelius as Amy Little), who host a show from their family room about Disney’s stars, movies, and programs.

5. He made his directorial debut at the age of 16 during the fourth season of Kickin’ It. The move certified him as the youngest TV director ever by the Guinness Book of World Records.

6. Howard has an interesting connection to Days. He’s engaged to actress Natasha Hall, who recently subbed for Jessica Serfaty as Sloan Petersen. He announced the news quite cleverly on Instagram in July 2023. “I just wanted to announce that Natasha and I are no longer dating…” he posted, adding photos of himself proposing and his new fiance displaying her engagement ring.

7. The guy is musically inclined too. Howard and his band Ask Jonesy & Company, featuring himself (lead guitar/vocals), Troy Romzek (lead vocals/guitar), and Ricky Ficarelli (bass/vocals), released their first single, “Burning Fire” in 2017.