C. Thomas Howell

Acting · 4.0 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

Hidalgo

20046.9

Red Dawn

19846.3

American Pie Presents: The Book of Love

20095.3

Old Dads

20236.2

Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox

20137.9

Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay

20187.1

Reagan

20246.4

Gettysburg

19937.0

The Poseidon Adventure

20055.2

Secret Admirer

19856.7

Justice League: Gods and Monsters

20157.1

Tank

19845.7

Soul Man

19865.3

Where the Wind Blows

20258.0

LBJ

20176.4

Gods and Generals

20036.4

Payback

19954.8

Woodlawn

20156.8

That Night

19926.4

The Hitcher II: I've Been Waiting

20034.7

Urban Country

20186.4

War of the Worlds 2: The Next Wave

20083.6

The Return of the Musketeers

19896.2

Toxic

20084.2

H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds

20055.2

Ordinary Miracles

20056.5

The Land That Time Forgot

20093.6

A Question of Faith

20177.5

Dangerous Indiscretion

19953.7

Big Game

20083.9

Nickel & Dime

19926.0

Dauntless: The Battle of Midway

20194.3

Side Out

19905.3

I Am Patrick Swayze

20197.0

Borrowed Moments

20153.4

Attack of the Killer Donuts

20164.1

Hot Boyz

20004.9

Grandview, U.S.A.

19845.8

Killer Bees

20023.9

Camel Spiders

20114.3

Restitution

20113.5

Cross

20114.1

Escape

20124.7

Staying Gold: A Look Back at 'The Outsiders'

20059.0

The Terror Experiment

20104.1

The Prince and the Surfer

19994.0

Into the Homeland

19876.6

Category 5

20145.5

Dirty Dealing

20183.3

Kid

19906.0

Chilly Christmas

20124.7

The Sin Seer

20154.1

A Killer Within

20045.0

The Day the Earth Stopped

20083.5

Ride

20247.1

Nursie

20044.8

Storm Rider

20136.5

Magic Hour

20154.0

Confessions of a Womanizer

20142.9

House of Fallen

20083.1

Dreadtown: The Steel Pulse Story

2026

Baby Face Nelson

19966.8

MoniKa

20125.9

Cupid's Arrow

20105.5

Laws of Deception

19974.0

A Gunfighter's Pledge

20085.2

WillFull

20027.3

Treacherous

19936.9

The Grind

20093.2

An Amish Murder

20135.8

Deadman Standing

20185.4

The Da Vinci Treasure

20062.6

Far Out Man

19905.5

Teresa's Tattoo

19944.9

The Hillside Strangler

20045.1

Spirit Riders

20156.1

Wedding Day

20124.0

Glass Trap

20053.8

Rivers 9

20155.1

Beast Mode

20205.6

The Horseman

2026

Natural Selection

19945.7

The Sweeper

19964.6

Mad Dogs and Englishmen

19954.0

Escape from Alaska

19994.7

The Lost Angel

20054.1

Net Games

20034.9

A Christmas Eve Miracle

20154.3

Home Invasion

20126.2

The 'E.T.' Journals

201210.0

Jailbait

19933.3

Hoboken Hollow

20063.8

Rich Boy, Rich Girl

20185.8

The Greatest Actress in the World

2026

Shifting Gears

20186.5

The Keeper: The Legend of Omar Khayyam

20055.4

Acting on Impulse

19934.8

Crimson Force

20054.6

Hourglass

19974.9

The Open Door

2024

Young Toscanini

19886.3

Breaking the Rules

19925.3

Christmas Belle

20135.7

Secret at Arrow Lake

20097.3

Burning Down the House

20018.5

The Eyes of the Panther

1989

Pure Danger

19964.2

Rescuing Madison

20145.9

Dilemma

19973.9

Curiosity Kills

19905.4

Askari

20017.0

The Big Fall

19976.3

Dead Fire

19974.3

Mutant Vampire Zombies from the 'Hood!

20102.7

Disconnected

20173.5

Matter of Trust

19984.0

Separate Ways

20013.8

The Shadow People

20174.4

A Magic Christmas

20144.8

Lazarus Rising

20153.0

Fatal Affair

19997.3

Charades

19984.2

Lost on Purpose

20134.3

The Million Dollar Kid

20003.4

A Tiger's Tale

19884.4

Don't Pass Me By

20134.0

Fighting Words

20068.0

Hitman's Run

19994.9

To Protect and Serve

19924.8

Cybermaster: Shepherd II

199910.0

Night of the Wolf

20025.2

The Thirst: Blood War

20083.6

The Hitcher: How Do These Movies Get Made?

20037.5

The Shepherd

19983.6

My B.F.F.

2016

XCU: Extreme Close Up

20014.7

Advance & Retreat

20166.3

Sleeping Dogs

19974.6

Blood Lust

20164.3

Last Lives

19974.3

Mac Daddy's Vegas Adventure

20172.0

The Jailhouse

20094.0

Sealed with a Kiss

19983.8

Zolar

20043.0

Because We're Family

20225.0

Suspect Device

19956.8

Xenophobia

20088.0

The Wrong Path

20214.0

The Rack Pack

20183.7

The Haunting of Marsten Manor

20072.2

Red Team

19993.8

Enemy Action

19994.7

Cold Ones

20076.7

Crimson Point

2022

Tattle Tale

19936.5

Lawless: Dead Evidence

20016.3

Asylum Days

20017.8

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

2018

Fruits De Mer

2014

Bigfoot Wars

20144.0

Control

2019

The Glass Jar

1999