C. Thomas Howell
Personal Info
Known For
Acting
Gender
Male
Birthday
1966-12-07
Place of Birth
Los Angeles, California, USA
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.
Also Known For
The Outsiders
Mar 25, 1983
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
Jun 11, 1982
Net Games
Feb 02, 2003
Red Dawn
Aug 10, 1984
Hidalgo
Feb 04, 2004
Fatal Affair
May 07, 1999
A Killer Within
Nov 06, 2004
The Hitcher II: I've Been Waiting
Jul 15, 2003
The Land That Time Forgot
Jul 28, 2009
Tank
Mar 16, 1984
Big Game
Jul 07, 2008
Acting on Impulse
Jul 10, 1993
The Hillside Strangler
Nov 12, 2004
Secret Admirer
Jun 14, 1985
My B.F.F.
Dec 12, 2016
Far Out Man
May 11, 1990
Soul Man
Oct 24, 1986
The Hitcher
Jan 17, 1986
Toxic
Mar 01, 2008
That Night
Aug 04, 1992
Glass Trap
Aug 02, 2005
H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds
Jun 28, 2005
The Poseidon Adventure
Nov 20, 2005
Killer Bees
Nov 19, 2002
The Grind
Sep 22, 2009
WillFull
Aug 29, 2002
Sleeping Dogs
Oct 12, 1997
The Return of the Musketeers
Apr 12, 1989
Last Lives
Oct 18, 1997
Hoboken Hollow
Jan 04, 2006
Gods and Generals
Feb 21, 2003
The Day the Earth Stopped
Dec 09, 2008
Fighting Words
Dec 25, 2006
War of the Worlds 2: The Next Wave
Feb 01, 2008
The Terror Experiment
Apr 01, 2010
The Shepherd
Jan 01, 1999
Side Out
Mar 30, 1990
Camel Spiders
Mar 04, 2011
Escape from Alaska
Jul 28, 1999
Payback
Jan 10, 1995
Grandview, U.S.A.
Aug 03, 1984
The Da Vinci Treasure
May 23, 2006
A Tiger's Tale
Feb 12, 1988
Restitution
Oct 28, 2011
The Eyes of the Panther
Nov 26, 1989
Ordinary Miracles
Jan 01, 2005
MoniKa
Dec 14, 2012
The Sweeper
Jun 25, 1996
Kid
Nov 02, 1990
A Gunfighter's Pledge
Sep 20, 2008
Dilemma
Jan 01, 1997
Xenophobia
Jan 01, 2008
Lawless: Dead Evidence
Jan 01, 2001
Chilly Christmas
Nov 05, 2012
Hitman's Run
Jan 01, 1999
Dead Fire
Jul 19, 1997
Hourglass
Feb 26, 1997
The Prince and the Surfer
Dec 21, 1999
Home Invasion
Sep 08, 2012
An Amish Murder
Jan 06, 2013
Breaking the Rules
Oct 09, 1992
Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox
Jul 30, 2013
Teresa's Tattoo
Mar 15, 1994
Askari
Dec 01, 2001
Asylum Days
Nov 10, 2001
Red Team
Apr 03, 1999
Charades
Dec 17, 1998
Suspect Device
Jan 01, 1995
Pure Danger
Sep 10, 1996
Lost on Purpose
Oct 04, 2013
Baby Face Nelson
Jan 25, 1996
Storm Rider
Oct 22, 2013
Cybermaster: Shepherd II
Jan 01, 1999
Treacherous
Sep 27, 1993
Enemy Action
Jan 01, 1999
Sealed with a Kiss
Feb 24, 1998
Nursie
Feb 23, 2004
Burning Down the House
Feb 07, 2001
Don't Pass Me By
Jan 12, 2013
Young Toscanini
Oct 07, 1988
Christmas Belle
Dec 08, 2013
Confessions of a Womanizer
Sep 06, 2014
Curiosity Kills
Jun 27, 1990
The Amazing Spider-Man
Jun 23, 2012
Mad Dogs and Englishmen
Jun 02, 1995
Crimson Point
Oct 17, 2022
Bigfoot Wars
Mar 10, 2014
Dangerous Indiscretion
Feb 21, 1995
Because We're Family
Oct 16, 2022
Dirty Dealing
Jun 19, 2018
Category 5
May 21, 2014
House of Fallen
Mar 01, 2008
Old Dads
Oct 20, 2023
Secret at Arrow Lake
Jan 01, 2009
Jailbait
Oct 22, 1993
Borrowed Moments
Feb 07, 2015
Woodlawn
Oct 15, 2015
Wedding Day
Jun 15, 2012
Justice League: Gods and Monsters
Jun 18, 2015
Laws of Deception
Mar 08, 1997
Rivers 9
Jun 30, 2015
The Big Fall
Oct 14, 1997
The Jailhouse
May 01, 2009
LBJ
Nov 03, 2017
Ride
Jun 14, 2024
Spirit Riders
May 09, 2015
Hot Boyz
Jan 15, 2000
Crimson Force
Jun 04, 2005
Dreadtown: The Steel Pulse Story
Blood Lust
Jan 15, 2016
Where The Wind Blows
Natural Selection
Jan 10, 1994
Escape
Jan 21, 2012
Rescuing Madison
Sep 04, 2014
Cupid's Arrow
Jan 01, 2010
Attack of the Killer Donuts
Jul 17, 2016
Advance & Retreat
Nov 05, 2016
Matter of Trust
Oct 06, 1998
Magic Hour
Dec 01, 2015
One Mile
One More Mile
Cross
May 21, 2011
Nickel & Dime
Jan 01, 1992
The Keeper: The Legend of Omar Khayyam
Jun 10, 2005
The Shadow People
Feb 28, 2017
To Protect and Serve
Oct 28, 1992
Mutant Vampire Zombies from the 'Hood!
May 18, 2010
A Question of Faith
Sep 29, 2017
Fruits De Mer
Sep 11, 2014
Tattle Tale
Jul 21, 1993
Cold Ones
Jan 01, 2007
Disconnected
Mar 01, 2017
Rich Boy, Rich Girl
Apr 24, 2018
Beast Mode
Dec 01, 2020
Urban Country
Aug 03, 2018
Shifting Gears
Mar 23, 2018
Separate Ways
Mar 25, 2001
Detroit Under S.T.R.E.S.S.
Jul 29, 2018
Deadman Standing
Apr 15, 2018
The Rack Pack
May 05, 2018
Zolar
May 01, 2004
A Magic Christmas
Oct 28, 2014
Mac Daddy's Vegas Adventure
Jun 17, 2017
Dauntless: The Battle of Midway
Oct 22, 2019
The Haunting of Marsten Manor
Jan 17, 2007
The 'E.T.' Journals
Oct 09, 2012
I Am Patrick Swayze
Aug 18, 2019
The Hitcher: How Do These Movies Get Made?
Mar 04, 2003
The Thirst: Blood War
Jan 01, 2008
Gettysburg
Oct 08, 1993
Night of the Wolf
Apr 15, 2002
Control
Aug 30, 2019
Into the Homeland
Jan 01, 1987
The Lost Angel
Apr 26, 2005
American Pie Presents: The Book of Love
Dec 07, 2009
Lazarus Rising
Sep 22, 2015
The Wrong Path
Apr 06, 2021
XCU: Extreme Close Up
May 28, 2001
Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay
Mar 23, 2018
Reagan
Aug 29, 2024
The Open Door
Jan 01, 2024
Staying Gold: A Look Back at 'The Outsiders'
Sep 20, 2005
A Christmas Eve Miracle
Nov 24, 2015
The Million Dollar Kid
Jan 18, 2000
Son of the Beach
Mar 14, 2000
The District
Oct 07, 2000
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Jan 26, 2003
24
Nov 06, 2001
Alphas
Jul 11, 2011
Kindred: The Embraced
Apr 02, 1996
Criminal Minds
Sep 22, 2005
Summerland
Jun 01, 2004
Creepshow
Sep 26, 2019
ER
Sep 19, 1994
Celebracadabra
Apr 27, 2008
Twice in a Lifetime
Aug 25, 1999
Amazon
Sep 25, 1999
The Hitchhiker
Nov 01, 1983
The Outer Limits
Mar 26, 1995
Southland
Apr 09, 2009
Southland
Apr 09, 2009
The Glades
Jul 11, 2010
The Walking Dead
Oct 31, 2010
Nightmare Classics
Aug 13, 1989
Revolution
Sep 17, 2012
Castle
Mar 09, 2009
Blue Bloods
Sep 24, 2010
Psych
Jul 07, 2006
Sleepy Hollow
Sep 16, 2013
Stitchers
Jun 02, 2015
Ties That Bind
Aug 12, 2015
Celebrity Ghost Stories
Oct 03, 2009
Marvel's The Punisher
Nov 17, 2017
Grimm
Oct 28, 2011
The Blacklist
Sep 23, 2013
Moonlighting
Mar 03, 1985
Sons of Anarchy
Sep 03, 2008
MacGyver
Sep 23, 2016
The Good Cop
Sep 21, 2018
The Walking Dead
Oct 31, 2010
Obliterated
Nov 30, 2023
The Terror
Mar 26, 2018
Torchwood
Oct 22, 2006
SEAL Team
Sep 27, 2017
Longmire
Jun 03, 2012
V.I.P.
Sep 26, 1998
Will Trent
Jan 03, 2023
Hawaii Five-0
Sep 20, 2010
