C. Thomas Howell
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.
Known For
Acting
1983
asPonyboy Curtis
1982
asTyler
2003
asAdam Vance
1984
asRobert
2004
asPreston Webb
1999
asMalcolm 'Mack' Maddox
2004
asAddison Terrill
2003
asJim Halsey
2009
asFrost Michaels
1984
asBilly
2008
asSully
1993
asPaul Stevens
2004
asKenneth Bianchi
1985
asMichael Ryan
2016
asBen Wilkins
1990
asHimself
1986
asMark Watson
1986
asJim Halsey
2008
asLIttle Joe
1992
asRick
2005
asCurtis
2005
asGeorge Herbert
2005
asDoctor Ballard
2002
asSheriff Lyndon Harris
2009
asLuke
2002
asNat Wolff
1997
asSanchez Boon
1989
asRaoul
1997
asAaron
2006
asClayton Connelly
2003
asSgt. Thomas Chamberlain
2008
asJosh Myron
2006
asDavid Settles
2008
asGeorge Herbert
2010
asChief Grasso
1998
asBoris Dakota
1990
asMonroe Clark
2011
asSheriff Beaumont
1999
asJack
1995
asOscar Bonsetter
1984
asTim Pearson
2006
asMichael Archer
1988
asBubber Drumm
2011
asJohn Youngstown
1989
asJenner Brading
2005
asJim Powell
2012
asDouble
1996
asMark Goddard
1990
asKid
2008
asHorn
1997
asThomas 'Quin' Quinlan
2008
asStone
2001
asDean Riley
2012
asPatrick Cole
1999
asTom Holly
1997
asTucker
1997
asMichael Jardine
1999
asDean
2012
asRay
2013
asNathan Detrick
1992
asGene Michaels
2013
asProfessor Eobard 'Zoom' Thawne / Reverse-Flash (voice)
1994
asCarl
2001
asJoss Mckinley
2001
asNathan Devine
1999
asJ.B. Gaines
1998
asEvan
1995
asDan Jericho
1996
asJohnie Dean
2013
asDelbert Furgeson
2013
asMitch Fielding
1996
asBaby Face Nelson
1999
asDakota
1993
asMicky Stewert
1999
asJohn Reed
1998
asDetective Mick Cullen
2004
asZack
2001
asConcierge
2013
asJack
1988
asArturo Toscanini
2013
asRex Everhart
2014
asTony
1990
asCat Thomas
2012
asJack's Father
1995
asMike
2022
asFrank
2014
asZeke
1995
asJim Lomax
2022
asPeter
2018
asCarter
2014
asCharlie DuPuis
2008
asThomas
2023
asEd Cameron
2009
as
1993
asSergeant Lee Teffler
2015
asJack
2015
asGeorge 'Shorty' White
2012
asRuss
2015
asDr. Will Magnus (voice)
1997
asEvan Marino
2015
asSheriff Quentin
1997
asBlaise Rybeck
2009
asSeth Delray
2017
asWalter Jenkins
2024
asJohn Hawkins
2015
asKeith
2000
asOfficer Roberts
2005
asCapt. Baskin
asSelf
2016
asRyan
asNathan
1994
asBen Braden / Alex Connelly
2012
asPaul Jordan
2014
asRad
2010
asProfessor Grimes
2016
asOfficer Roberts
2016
asNathan Shapiro
1998
asMichael D'Angelo
2015
asTom Worthy
asStanley Dixon
asStanley Dixon
2011
asJake
1992
asJack Stone
2005
asCoach Fielding
2017
asKaine
1992
asEgan
2010
asDavid
2017
asJohn Danielson
2014
as
1993
asBernard Sprat
2007
asK.C. Corcoran
2017
asRobert Crawford
2018
asBlake
2020
asBreen Nash
2018
asJim Craft
2018
asJenkins
2001
asTom Milton
2018
asNarrator
2018
asThe Stranger
2018
asTed
2004
asHedion
2014
asJack Carter
2017
as
2019
asCaptain Miles Browning
2007
asCaptain Williams
2012
asSelf
2019
asSelf
2003
as
2008
asJed
1993
asLieut. Thomas D. Chamberlain
2002
asSheriff Wade Messer
2019
asControl (voice)
1987
asTripp Wilson
2005
asKuratha
2009
asAlumnus Guy #2
2015
asSilent Cal
2021
asDr. Eric Peselowe
2001
asGeoffrey Liddy
2018
asEobard Thawne / Professor Zoom (voice)
2024
asCaspar Weinberger
2024
asMr. Sapp
2005
asSelf
2015
asJack Carter
2000
asValentino
as
asChris Gunner
asSelf
asBarry Landes
asEli Aquino
asDet. Frank Kohanek
asThe Reaper / George Foyet
asKyle Bale
asSam Spinster
asVincent Jansen
as
as
asDr. Alex Kennedy
asGerald
asCapt. Miles Davidow
asOfficer Dewey Dudek
asPeyton Robinson
asRoy
asJenner Brading
asBounty Hunter
asJohn Campbell
asAlex Polanski
asCamden Driggs
asSAC Mick Granger
asDaniel Stinger
asMr. Witherspoon
asSelf
asCarson Wolf
asWeston Steward
asEarl Fagen
asWaiter (uncredited)
asAgent Frank Eagan
asVasil
asasHilltop Resident
asHagerty
asMajor Bowen
asThe Gentleman
asAsh Spenser
asRay Stewart
asPhil Sherman
asWarden Sturgill Hardly
asMartin Cordova
asAnders
asLouis Degner
Production
Crew
1980
asDirecting
2009
as
2010
as2008
as2008
as1997
as1996
as1997
as
