
C. Thomas Howell
Born: 1966-12-07
Place of Birth: Los Angeles, California, USA
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

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial

The Amazing Spider-Man

Gettysburg

The Outsiders

Old Dads

Reagan

Tank

Hidalgo

American Pie Presents: The Book of Love

Fatal Affair

Ride

Soul Man

The Sweeper

Disconnected

Deadman Standing

Secret Admirer

Cross

Magic Hour

Hoboken Hollow

Home Invasion

Hot Boyz

Net Games

Dangerous Indiscretion

Charades

Glass Trap

Camel Spiders

Nickel & Dime

Spirit Riders

Beast Mode

Payback

Cold Ones

Pure Danger

Blood Lust

Red Dawn

Rescuing Madison

Sleeping Dogs

Toxic

The Hitcher

Askari

MoniKa

Dilemma

LBJ

Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox

Christmas Belle

Big Game

Natural Selection

Curiosity Kills

Chilly Christmas

Shifting Gears

Advance & Retreat

The Jailhouse

Restitution

Asylum Days

Wedding Day

Treacherous

Urban Country

Crimson Force

Escape from Alaska

Dirty Dealing

Rivers 9

Red Team

Storm Rider

Bigfoot Wars

Justice League: Gods and Monsters

WillFull

Attack of the Killer Donuts

The Poseidon Adventure

The Big Fall

Nursie

Control

Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay

Far Out Man

Ordinary Miracles

The Day the Earth Stopped

The Haunting of Marsten Manor

Woodlawn

Where the Wind Blows

Crimson Point

Gods and Generals

Side Out

Kid

The Eyes of the Panther

Dauntless: The Battle of Midway

The Return of the Musketeers

The 'E.T.' Journals

Separate Ways

That Night

War of the Worlds 2: The Next Wave

The Grind

A Tiger's Tale

H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds

Jailbait

An Amish Murder

The Da Vinci Treasure

The Land That Time Forgot

Mad Dogs and Englishmen

Escape

Cybermaster: Shepherd II

I Am Patrick Swayze

Grandview, U.S.A.

A Question of Faith

Breaking the Rules

The Rack Pack

Secret at Arrow Lake

The Hitcher II: I've Been Waiting

Enemy Action

A Killer Within

My B.F.F.

Category 5

The Terror Experiment

The Hillside Strangler

Cupid's Arrow

Night of the Wolf

House of Fallen

The Thirst: Blood War

Burning Down the House

The Shepherd

Killer Bees

Fruits De Mer

Rich Boy, Rich Girl

The Shadow People

The Lost Angel

Acting on Impulse

The Keeper: The Legend of Omar Khayyam

Baby Face Nelson

A Gunfighter's Pledge

Fighting Words

A Magic Christmas

Dead Fire

Hourglass

Dreadtown: The Steel Pulse Story

The Million Dollar Kid

Into the Homeland

Mutant Vampire Zombies from the 'Hood!

To Protect and Serve

Teresa's Tattoo

Lazarus Rising

Staying Gold: A Look Back at 'The Outsiders'

The Prince and the Surfer

Laws of Deception

Matter of Trust

Young Toscanini

Lost on Purpose

Zolar

XCU: Extreme Close Up

The Wrong Path

Tattle Tale

Don't Pass Me By

Suspect Device

Hitman's Run

Confessions of a Womanizer

Last Lives

The Open Door

Mac Daddy's Vegas Adventure

Lawless: Dead Evidence

A Christmas Eve Miracle

The Hitcher: How Do These Movies Get Made?

Detroit Under S.T.R.E.S.S.
