Childhood & Early Life
Steve was born Steven Michael Robert Howey, on July 12, 1977, in San Antonio, Texas, to director and acting coach Bill Howey. He later moved from Texas to Denver, Colorado, where he graduated high school. Steve attended 'Northeastern Junior College' in Sterling, Colorado, for 2 years, through a basketball scholarship.
Growing up, Steve had spent a lot of time sailing the Pacific Coast with his ‘US Navy’ veteran parents. In the late 1990s, before moving to Denver, he worked as a waiter at the 'Grady's American Grill' restaurant in Colorado. Despite being good at athletics, Steve chose acting as a career option.
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Career
Steve made his acting debut in 1998, with the independent film 'Class.' He produced the film, while his father wrote and directed it. The film was an official selection at the 'Denver International Film Festival.'
In 1999, Steve made a brief appearance in an episode of the crime drama 'Pacific Blue' and narrated a few episodes of the syndicated animated cartoon 'Totally Tooned In.' The following year, he made several guest appearances, in the 'Fox Network' comedy–drama 'Get Real' (as ‘Chris DeFalco’), the 'NBC' medical drama 'ER' (as ‘Quarterback Elizey’), and the 'ABC' sitcom 'The Drew Carey Show.’
Steve was seen as ‘Troy’ in an episode of the 'Lifetime' network drama 'Any Day Now,' titled ‘Everyone Deserves to be Loved,’ after which he earned his first prominent TV role. He was cast in the recurring role (125 episodes, from 2001 to 2007) of ‘Van Montgomery,’ a dim-witted yet prolific football player, in 'The WB' sitcom 'Reba.' Steve and his 'Reba' co-star Joanna García featured in the music video 'Every Other Weekend' by Reba McEntire.
Steve appeared as ‘KC Carlyle,’ an ‘MX’ racer, in the 2005 action film 'Supercross.' He also played ‘Weatherby’ in the 2006 martial arts action movie 'DOA: Dead or Alive.' Following this, he made appearances in 'The WB' sitcom 'Twins' (as ‘Zack’) and the TV movies 'The Beast' and 'Five Year Plan.'
In 2009, Steve starred as ‘Daniel Williams’ in the romantic black comedy 'Bride Wars.' He was cast in the titular role in the 2009 horror–comedy parody film 'Stan Helsing.' His character was an underachieving video rental store employee. That year, Steve was also seen as ‘Agnew’ in 'Still Waiting...'
Continuing with his TV projects, Steve appeared in the 'ABC' sitcom 'Surviving Suburbia' and had a recurring role (10 episodes) as ‘Ben Piller’ in the 'NBC' comedy web-drama 'CTRL.' In 2011, he appeared in the romantic comedies 'Conception' (as ‘Joel,’ opposite Leila Leigh as ‘Bree’), 'Something Borrowed' (as ‘Marcus’), and 'Losing Control' (as ‘Terry’).
In 2011, Steve began his stint in the 'Showtime' comedy–drama 'Shameless.' He was cast as a series regular, ‘Kevin "Kev" Ball,’ a dyslexic who grew up in a foster care home and later married ‘Veronica,’ played by ‘Shanola Hampton.’ Steve currently continues to appear on the show.
Steve joined the sixth season of the 'FX' crime tragedy 'Sons of Anarchy' (as ‘Hopper’) for three episodes. In 2013, he guest-starred in an episode of the 'Fox' sitcom 'New Girl.' He appeared as ‘Jax,’ a professional football player and the boyfriend of ‘Jess,’ played by Zooey Deschanel.
In 2016, Steve and former 'Shameless' actor Justin Chatwin co-starred in the romantic comedy 'Unleashed.' The two were shown as a dog and a cat, respectively, who eventually transform into humans.
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In 2018, Steve was seen as ‘Danny Cooper,’ a retired member of ‘SEAL Team 4,’ in three episodes of the debut season of the 'CBS' military drama 'SEAL Team.' Recently, in 2019, he was seen in the action–comedy film 'Stuber.'
Controversy
Steve and his wife made several news headlines when in 2016, their nanny, Sarah Alaseri, filed a lawsuit against them, claiming sexual and mental harassment. She also charged them with religious discrimination.
Sarah was employed by Steve in July 2012. She claimed that both Steve and his wife would often made nasty remarks about her religion and would even mock her for dressing in a certain way. Sarah added that she was also subjected to severely disturbing verbal abuse.
Sarah claimed that Steve's wife, who is also half-Muslim, would often share the details of her sexual encounters with a top-notch actor and would also encourage her to start an affair with Steve.
Steve and his wife blamed Sarah of being a criminal and eventually fired her in May, which ultimately led to the scandal. However, the details of the case were kept private.
Family & Personal Life
Steve is married to actor and former 'Dallas Cowboys' cheerleader Sarah Shahi. The two had met in 2004, on the sets of 'Reba.' Steve later encouraged her to get acting lessons for his father.
Steve and Sarah got engaged in June 2007, during their Hawaii getaway, and got married on February 7, 2009, in Las Vegas. The two became parents in July 2009, with the birth of their son, William Wolf Howey. On March 01, 2015, Steve became the father of fraternal twins Knox Blue and Violet Moon.
In an episode of 'The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson,' Sarah mentioned that Steve is of Scottish ethnicity.
When not shooting, Steve spends time riding his motorcycle, playing poker, studying martial arts, coaching new talent, and participating in shooting competitions. He lives in Los Angeles.
Steve is an active volunteer of the 'Starlight Children's Foundation,' a non-profit organization that provides funds and services to hospitalized children and their families.
Steve's father, Bill Howey, was an acting teacher in Los Angeles and had connections with Hollywood celebrities such as Patrick Swayze and George Clooney. Steve had grown up on a 67-foot yacht named ‘Valkyrien’ and was initially homeschooled.
