C. Thomas Howell
Acting
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.
Born: December 7, 1966
Place of Birth: Los Angeles, California, USA
Known For
Filmography
as Caspar Weinberger
as John Hawkins
as Mr. Sapp
as Hagerty
as Ed Cameron
as Warden Sturgill Hardly
as Anders
as Frank
as Peter
as Dr. Eric Peselowe
as Breen Nash
as Captain Miles Browning
as Sam Spinster
as Control (voice)
as Self
as Jim Craft
as Narrator
as Carter
as Ted
as Blake
as The Stranger
as Major Bowen
as Eobard Thawne / Professor Zoom (voice)
as Jenkins
as Carson Wolf
as Walter Jenkins
as John Danielson
as Ash Spenser
as Robert Crawford
as Kaine
as Ben Wilkins
as Nathan Shapiro
as Vasil
as Officer Roberts
as Ryan
as Tom Worthy
as Jack Carter
as George 'Shorty' White
as Silent Cal
as Mr. Witherspoon
as Sheriff Quentin
as Dr. Will Magnus (voice)
as Daniel Stinger
as Keith
as Louis Degner
as Jack Carter
as Tony
as Rad
as Charlie DuPuis
as Zeke
as Rex Everhart
as Mitch Fielding
as Delbert Furgeson
as Earl Fagen
as SAC Mick Granger
as Professor Eobard 'Zoom' Thawne / Reverse-Flash (voice)
as Jack
as Nathan Detrick
as Double
as Patrick Cole
as Self
as Bounty Hunter
as Ray
as Jack's Father
as Russ
as Ray Stewart
as Paul Jordan
as Weston Steward
as John Youngstown
as Eli Aquino
as Jake
as Sheriff Beaumont
as Roy
as Hilltop Resident
as Alex Polanski
as Martin Cordova
as Peyton Robinson
as Chief Grasso
as Professor Grimes
as Alumnus Guy #2
as Self
as Luke
as Frost Michaels
as Seth Delray
as Officer Dewey Dudek
as John Campbell
as Josh Myron
as Horn
as Agent Frank Eagan
as Sully
as LIttle Joe
as Thomas
as George Herbert
as Jed
as Captain Williams
as K.C. Corcoran
as David Settles
as The Gentleman
as Camden Driggs
as Michael Archer
as Clayton Connelly
as Doctor Ballard
as The Reaper / George Foyet
as Curtis
as George Herbert
as Coach Fielding
as Capt. Baskin
as Kuratha
as Jim Powell
as Kenneth Bianchi
as Addison Terrill
as Kyle Bale
as Hedion
as Zack
as Preston Webb
as Jim Halsey
as Sgt. Thomas Chamberlain
as Adam Vance
as Self
as Sheriff Lyndon Harris
as Nat Wolff
as Joss Mckinley
as Nathan Devine
as Barry Landes
as Geoffrey Liddy
as Tom Milton
as Dean Riley
as Chris Gunner
as Valentino
as Officer Roberts
as Dean
as Dr. Alex Kennedy
as Jack
as Malcolm 'Mack' Maddox
as J.B. Gaines
as Tom Holly
as John Reed
as Dakota
as Evan
as Michael D'Angelo
as Phil Sherman
as Boris Dakota
as Aaron
as Blaise Rybeck
as Sanchez Boon
as Tucker
as Evan Marino
as Michael Jardine
as Thomas 'Quin' Quinlan
as Johnie Dean
as Mark Goddard
as Det. Frank Kohanek
as Baby Face Nelson
as Mike
as Capt. Miles Davidow
as Jim Lomax
as Oscar Bonsetter
as Dan Jericho
as Vincent Jansen
as Carl
as Ben Braden / Alex Connelly
as Sergeant Lee Teffler
as Lieut. Thomas D. Chamberlain
as Micky Stewert
as Bernard Sprat
as Paul Stevens
as Egan
as Gene Michaels
as Rick
as Jack Stone
as Kid
as Cat Thomas
as Himself
as Monroe Clark
as Jenner Brading
as Jenner Brading
as Raoul
as Arturo Toscanini
as Bubber Drumm
as Tripp Wilson
as Mark Watson
as Jim Halsey
as Michael Ryan
as Waiter (uncredited)
as Robert
as Tim Pearson
as Billy
as Gerald
as Ponyboy Curtis
as Tyler
as Nathan