C. Thomas Howell

C. Thomas Howell (58)

1966-12-07 | Los Angeles, California, USA

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.

On Movies

  • Reagan
  • Ride
  • Old Dads
  • Crimson Point
  • Because We're Family
  • The Wrong Path
  • Beast Mode
  • Dauntless: The Battle of Midway
  • Control
  • Urban Country
  • Dirty Dealing
  • The Rack Pack
  • Rich Boy, Rich Girl
  • Deadman Standing
  • Shifting Gears
  • Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay
  • LBJ
  • A Question of Faith
  • Disconnected
  • The Shadow People
  • My B.F.F.
  • Advance & Retreat
  • Attack of the Killer Donuts
  • Blood Lust
  • Magic Hour
  • A Christmas Eve Miracle
  • Woodlawn
  • Lazarus Rising
  • Rivers 9
  • Justice League: Gods and Monsters
  • Spirit Riders
  • Borrowed Moments
  • A Magic Christmas
  • Fruits De Mer
  • Confessions of a Womanizer
  • Rescuing Madison
  • Category 5
  • Bigfoot Wars
  • Christmas Belle
  • Storm Rider
  • Lost on Purpose
  • Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox
  • Don't Pass Me By
  • An Amish Murder
  • MoniKa
  • Chilly Christmas
  • Home Invasion
  • The Amazing Spider-Man
  • Wedding Day
  • Escape
  • Restitution
  • Cross
  • Camel Spiders
  • Mutant Vampire Zombies from the 'Hood!
  • The Terror Experiment
  • Cupid's Arrow
  • American Pie Presents: The Book of Love
  • The Grind
  • The Land That Time Forgot
  • The Jailhouse
  • Mia's Father
  • The Day the Earth Stopped
  • A Gunfighter's Pledge
  • Big Game
  • Toxic
  • House of Fallen
  • War of the Worlds 2: The Next Wave
  • The Thirst: Blood War
  • The Haunting of Marsten Manor
  • Cold Ones
  • Fighting Words
  • The Da Vinci Treasure
  • Hoboken Hollow
  • The Poseidon Adventure
  • Glass Trap
  • H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds
  • The Keeper: The Legend of Omar Khayyam
  • Crimson Force
  • The Lost Angel
  • Ordinary Miracles
  • The Hillside Strangler
  • A Killer Within
  • Zolar
  • Nursie
  • Hidalgo
  • The Hitcher II: I've Been Waiting
  • Gods and Generals
  • Net Games
  • Killer Bees
  • WillFull
  • Night of the Wolf
  • Askari
  • Asylum Days
  • XCU: Extreme Close Up
  • Separate Ways
  • Lawless: Dead Evidence
  • Hot Boyz
  • The Prince and the Surfer
  • Escape from Alaska
  • Fatal Affair
  • Red Team
  • The Shepherd
  • Hitman's Run
  • Cybermaster: Shepherd II
  • Enemy Action
  • Charades
  • Matter of Trust
  • Sealed with a Kiss
  • Last Lives
  • The Big Fall
  • Sleeping Dogs
  • Dead Fire
  • Laws of Deception
  • Hourglass
  • Dilemma
  • The Sweeper
  • Baby Face Nelson
  • Mad Dogs and Englishmen
  • Dangerous Indiscretion
  • Payback
  • Suspect Device
  • Teresa's Tattoo
  • Natural Selection
  • Jailbait
  • Gettysburg
  • Treacherous
  • Tattle Tale
  • Acting on Impulse
  • To Protect and Serve
  • Breaking the Rules
  • That Night
  • Nickel & Dime
  • Kid
  • Curiosity Kills
  • Far Out Man
  • Side Out
  • The Eyes of the Panther
  • The Return of the Musketeers
  • Young Toscanini
  • A Tiger's Tale
  • Soul Man
  • The Hitcher
  • Secret Admirer
  • Red Dawn
  • Grandview, U.S.A.
  • Tank
  • The Outsiders
  • E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial

Movies as Director

NextFilm 2025