C. Thomas Howell

Acting · 3.9 popularity

Age

Movies

168

Born: December 7, 1966
From: Los Angeles, California, USA
Website: Visit site

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.

Works

168 films

The Amazing Spider-Man

20126.7

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial

19827.5

One Mile: Chapter One

20266.9

The Outsiders

19837.2

One Mile: Chapter Two

20266.8

The Hitcher

19867.0

Red Dawn

19846.3

Old Dads

20236.2

American Pie Presents: The Book of Love

20095.3

Hidalgo

20046.9

Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox

20137.9

Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay

20187.1

Reagan

20246.4

Justice League: Gods and Monsters

20157.1

Gettysburg

19937.0

Soul Man

19865.3

The Poseidon Adventure

20055.2

Secret Admirer

19856.7

Where the Wind Blows

20258.0

Tank

19845.7

Urban Country

20186.4

LBJ

20176.4

That Night

19926.4

Gods and Generals

20036.4

Woodlawn

20156.8

Payback

19954.8

The Return of the Musketeers

19896.2

The Hitcher II: I've Been Waiting

20034.7

War of the Worlds 2: The Next Wave

20083.6

Dauntless: The Battle of Midway

20194.3

Toxic

20084.2

I Am Patrick Swayze

20197.0

The Land That Time Forgot

20093.6

H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds

20055.2

A Question of Faith

20177.5

Dangerous Indiscretion

19953.7

Side Out

19905.3

Restitution

20113.5

Attack of the Killer Donuts

20164.1

Nickel & Dime

19926.0

Camel Spiders

20114.3

Cross

20114.1

Killer Bees

20023.9

Ordinary Miracles

20056.5

Ride

20247.1

Borrowed Moments

20153.4

Grandview, U.S.A.

19845.8

Magic Hour

20154.0

Hot Boyz

20004.9

Big Game

20083.9

Kid

19906.0

The Sin Seer

20154.1

Into the Homeland

19876.6

The Day the Earth Stopped

20083.5

Escape

20124.7

Dirty Dealing

20183.3

The 'E.T.' Journals

201210.0

House of Fallen

20083.1

Chilly Christmas

20124.7

Staying Gold: A Look Back at 'The Outsiders'

20059.0

Confessions of a Womanizer

20142.9

A Killer Within

20045.0

Treacherous

19936.9

Dreadtown: The Steel Pulse Story

2026

Baby Face Nelson

19966.8

Storm Rider

20136.5

Glass Trap

20053.8

The Sweeper

19964.6

The Grind

20093.2

Category 5

20145.5

Rivers 9

20155.1

Deadman Standing

20185.4

The Terror Experiment

20104.1

Dead Fire

19974.3

Net Games

20034.9

Spirit Riders

20156.1

Home Invasion

20126.2

Nursie

20044.8

An Amish Murder

20135.8

The Da Vinci Treasure

20062.6

The Eyes of the Panther

1989

The Lost Angel

20054.1

The Prince and the Surfer

19994.0

A Gunfighter's Pledge

20085.2

Cupid's Arrow

20105.5

Mad Dogs and Englishmen

19954.0

Beast Mode

20205.6

Laws of Deception

19974.0

A Christmas Eve Miracle

20154.3

Escape from Alaska

19994.7

MoniKa

20125.9

The Horseman

2026

Hoboken Hollow

20063.8

Separate Ways

20013.8

Acting on Impulse

19934.8

Mutant Vampire Zombies from the 'Hood!

20102.7

Young Toscanini

19886.3

Teresa's Tattoo

19944.9

Sleeping Dogs

19974.6

The Hillside Strangler

20045.1

The Greatest Actress in the World

2026

Wedding Day

20124.0

Secret at Arrow Lake

20097.3

Far Out Man

19905.5

The Keeper: The Legend of Omar Khayyam

20055.4

Lazarus Rising

20153.0

Rich Boy, Rich Girl

20185.8

The Open Door

2024

Shifting Gears

20186.5

Curiosity Kills

19905.4

WillFull

20027.3

Dilemma

19973.9

Blood Lust

20164.3

Burning Down the House

20018.5

A Magic Christmas

20144.8

Christmas Belle

20135.7

The Shepherd

19983.6

Jailbait

19933.3

The Shadow People

20174.4

Natural Selection

19945.7

Hourglass

19974.9

Rescuing Madison

20145.9

Askari

20017.0

Pure Danger

19964.2

Last Lives

19974.3

Crimson Force

20054.6

Red Team

19993.8

The Jailhouse

20094.0

Hitman's Run

19994.9

A Tiger's Tale

19884.4

The Thirst: Blood War

20083.6

Don't Pass Me By

20134.0

Disconnected

20173.5

The Big Fall

19976.3

The Wrong Path

20214.0

Breaking the Rules

19925.3

Cybermaster: Shepherd II

199910.0

The Million Dollar Kid

20003.4

Lawless: Dead Evidence

20016.3

Lost on Purpose

20134.3

Advance & Retreat

20166.3

The Hitcher: How Do These Movies Get Made?

20037.5

To Protect and Serve

19924.8

Fatal Affair

19997.3

Because We're Family

20225.0

Mac Daddy's Vegas Adventure

20172.0

Matter of Trust

19984.0

Charades

19984.2

The Haunting of Marsten Manor

20072.2

Night of the Wolf

20025.2

XCU: Extreme Close Up

20014.7

Suspect Device

19956.8

My B.F.F.

2016

Sealed with a Kiss

19983.8

Fighting Words

20068.0

Asylum Days

20017.8

The Rack Pack

20183.7

Bigfoot Wars

20144.0

Cold Ones

20076.7

Xenophobia

20088.0

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

2018

Zolar

20043.0

Enemy Action

19994.7

Tattle Tale

19936.5

Crimson Point

2022

Control

2019

Fruits De Mer

2014

The Glass Jar

1999