Cast

C. Thomas Howell

Acting

Cast

C. Thomas Howell

Known for

Acting

Born

1966-12-07

From

Los Angeles, California, USA

Also known as Christopher Thomas Howell, Tom Howell, Си Томас Хауэлл

Biography

Christopher Thomas Howell (born December 7, 1966), usually credited as C. Thomas Howell, is an American actor and film director. He starred in the films The Outsiders as Ponyboy Curtis and in The Hitcher as Jim Halsey. He has appeared in Soul Man, Red Dawn, Secret Admirer, Gettysburg, H. G. Wells' War of the Worlds, The Day the Earth Stopped and Gods and Generals. Howell was born in the Van Nuys neighborhood of Los Angeles to Christopher N. and Candice Howell. He has three siblings. His father worked as a stunt coordinator and rodeo performer. He played the role of the Red Knight in Terry Gilliam’s The Fisher King. As a young boy, Howell wanted to be a stuntman and was a child stunt performer. He was also a rodeo star. When Howell was young, his parents divorced. Howell graduated from Saugus High School in 1984. In 1982, Howell made his film debut as Tyler in Steven Spielberg's E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. At the age of 15 in 1981, Howell was cast in Francis Ford Coppola's The Outsiders (1983). Howell played the lead role of Ponyboy Curtis, "the soulful tagalong greaser through whose eyes we see the events of the 1960s-set film unfold." Based on S.E. Hinton's bestselling 1967 novel of the same name,the coming-of-age film went on to become a cult classic. Howell's portrayal of Ponyboy was his breakthrough role, and it earned him a Young Artist Award. In 1984, Howell and his Outsiders co-star Patrick Swayze reunited for Grandview, U.S.A. and Red Dawn. Howell also had a pivotal role in Tank (1984). In 1985, he starred in Secret Admirer. After filming The Outsiders, Howell co-starred in his own television series Two Marriages, which ended after four episodes, but letters of support got it back on air. He later expressed disappointment in the series. Howell was one of two final actors in the running for the lead role of Marty McFly in Back to the Future (1985); the other was Eric Stoltz. Ultimately, Michael J. Fox was cast as Marty after Stoltz was deemed wrong for the part. In 1986, Howell was a hitchhiker's target in the film The Hitcher. He also starred in the sequel, which was released in 2003. In 1986, Howell starred in Soul Man, a film in which Howell appears in Blackface. Rounding out the 1980s , Howell played the young Arturo Toscanini in Franco Zeffirelli's 1988 film Young Toscanini.

C. Thomas Howell

C. Thomas Howell

Biography

The Amazing Spider-Man

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial

One Mile: Chapter One

The Outsiders

One Mile: Chapter Two

American Pie Presents: The Book of Love

Hidalgo

Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox

Red Dawn

The Hitcher

Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay

Gettysburg

Reagan

The Poseidon Adventure

Where the Wind Blows

Tank

Secret Admirer

Old Dads

Storm Rider

Gods and Generals

Dangerous Indiscretion

Grandview, U.S.A.

Ordinary Miracles

Payback

Restitution

Urban Country

A Question of Faith

LBJ

Secret at Arrow Lake

Borrowed Moments

Kid

The Land That Time Forgot

A Gunfighter's Pledge

Soul Man

House of Fallen

Cross

Woodlawn

A Killer Within

Magic Hour

The Da Vinci Treasure

Nickel & Dime

Justice League: Gods and Monsters

Toxic

The Lost Angel

Into the Homeland

Camel Spiders

That Night

War of the Worlds 2: The Next Wave

H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds

The Open Door

The Terror Experiment

Hot Boyz

The Hitcher II: I've Been Waiting

Chilly Christmas

Side Out

Dauntless: The Battle of Midway

The Hillside Strangler

MoniKa

An Amish Murder

Dirty Dealing

Net Games

Baby Face Nelson

Mad Dogs and Englishmen

Escape

Ride

I Am Patrick Swayze

Teresa's Tattoo

WillFull

The Day the Earth Stopped

The Grind

The Horseman

Big Game

Burning Down the House

Young Toscanini

The Greatest Actress in the World

Crimson Force

Dilemma