C. Thomas Howell
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- December 7, 1966 (age 59)
- Birthplace
- Los Angeles, California, USA
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.
Known For
Photos
Filmography
Dreadtown: The Steel Pulse Story
Movie · as Self
The Greatest Actress in the World
Movie
The Horseman
Movie
One Mile: Chapter One
Movie · as Stanley Dixon
One Mile: Chapter Two
Movie · as Stanley Dixon
Where the Wind Blows
Movie · as Nathan
Ride
Movie · as John Hawkins
Reagan
Movie · as Caspar Weinberger
The Open Door
Movie · as Mr. Sapp
Old Dads
Movie · as Ed Cameron
Obliterated
TV · as Hagerty · 8 eps
Will Trent
TV · as Warden Sturgill Hardly · 1 ep
Crimson Point
Movie · as Frank
Because We're Family
Movie · as Peter
1923
TV · as Anders · 3 eps
The Wrong Path
Movie · as Dr. Eric Peselowe
Beast Mode
Movie · as Breen Nash
Dauntless: The Battle of Midway
Movie · as Captain Miles Browning
I Am Patrick Swayze
Movie · as Self
Control
Movie · as Control (voice)
Creepshow
TV · as Sam Spinster · 1 ep
Dirty Dealing
Movie · as Carter
Rich Boy, Rich Girl
Movie · as Blake
Urban Country
Movie · as Jim Craft
Shifting Gears
Movie · as Jenkins
Detroit Under S.T.R.E.S.S.
Movie · as Narrator
Deadman Standing
Movie · as The Stranger
The Rack Pack
Movie · as Ted
Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay
Movie · as Zoom (voice)
The Good Cop
TV · as Businessman · 1 ep
The Terror
TV · as Major Bowen · 5 eps
LBJ
Movie · as Walter Jenkins
The Shadow People
Movie · as Kaine
A Question of Faith
Movie · as John Danielson
Disconnected
Movie · as Robert Crawford
Mac Daddy's Vegas Adventure
Movie
Marvel's The Punisher
TV · as Carson Wolf · 3 eps
SEAL Team
TV · as Ash Spenser · 12 eps
My B.F.F.
Movie · as Ben Wilkins
Blood Lust
Movie · as Ryan
Attack of the Killer Donuts
Movie · as Officer Roberts
Advance & Retreat
Movie · as Nathan Shapiro
MacGyver
TV · as Vasil · 1 ep
Borrowed Moments
Movie · as Jack
Woodlawn
Movie · as George 'Shorty' White
Justice League: Gods and Monsters
Movie · as Dr. Will Magnus (voice)
Rivers 9
Movie · as Sheriff Quentin
Spirit Riders
Movie · as Keith
Magic Hour
Movie · as Tom Worthy
Lazarus Rising
Movie · as Silent Cal
A Christmas Eve Miracle
Movie · as Jack Carter
The Sin Seer
Movie · as Detective Riggers
Stitchers
TV · as Daniel Stinger · 5 eps
Ties That Bind
TV · as Mr. Witherspoon · 1 ep
Bosch
TV · as Louis Degner · 3 eps
Confessions of a Womanizer
Movie · as Tony
Bigfoot Wars
Movie · as Zeke
Category 5
Movie · as Charlie DuPuis
Rescuing Madison
Movie · as Rad
Fruits De Mer
Movie
A Magic Christmas
Movie · as Jack Carter
An Amish Murder
Movie · as Nathan Detrick
Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox
Movie · as Professor Zoom / Thawne (voice)
Lost on Purpose
Movie · as Delbert Furgeson
Storm Rider
Movie · as Mitch Fielding
Don't Pass Me By
Movie · as Jack
Christmas Belle
Movie · as Rex Everhart
The Kindred Chronicles
Movie · as Self / Detective Frank Kohanek
Sleepy Hollow
TV · as SAC Mick Granger · 1 ep
The Blacklist
TV · as Earl Fagen · 2 eps
MoniKa
Movie · as Double
Chilly Christmas
Movie · as Patrick Cole
Home Invasion
Movie · as Ray
The Amazing Spider-Man
Movie · as Jack's Father
Wedding Day
Movie · as Russ
Escape
Movie · as Paul Jordan
The E.T. Journals
Movie · as Self
Revolution
TV · as Bounty Hunter · 1 ep
Longmire
TV · as Ray Stewart · 1 ep
Camel Spiders
Movie · as Sheriff Beaumont
Restitution
Movie · as John Youngstown
Cross
Movie · as Jake
Alphas
TV · as Eli Aquino · 1 ep
Grimm
TV · as Weston Steward · 5 eps
The Terror Experiment
Movie · as Chief Grasso
Cupid's Arrow
Movie · as Professor Grimes
Mutant Vampire Zombies from the 'Hood!
Movie · as David
The Glades
TV · as Peyton Robinson · 1 ep
The Walking Dead
TV · as Roy, Hilltop Resident · 2 eps
Blue Bloods
TV · as Alex Polanski · 1 ep
Hawaii Five-0
TV · as Martin Cordova · 1 ep
The Land That Time Forgot
Movie · as Frost Michaels
The Grind
Movie · as Luke
Secret at Arrow Lake
Movie
The Jailhouse
Movie · as Seth Delray
American Pie Presents: The Book of Love
Movie · as Alumnus Guy #2
Southland
TV · as Officer Dewey Dudek · 14 eps
Castle
TV · as John Campbell · 1 ep
Celebrity Ghost Stories
TV · as Self · 1 ep
Big Game
Movie · as Sully
Toxic
Movie · as LIttle Joe
The Day the Earth Stopped
Movie · as Josh Myron
War of the Worlds 2: The Next Wave
Movie · as George Herbert
A Gunfighter's Pledge
Movie · as Horn
Xenophobia
Movie · as Stone
House of Fallen
Movie · as Thomas
The Thirst: Blood War
Movie · as Jed
Celebracadabra
TV · 9 eps
Sons of Anarchy
TV · as Agent Frank Eagan · 1 ep
Cold Ones
Movie · as K.C. Corcoran
The Haunting of Marsten Manor
Movie · as Captain Williams
Hoboken Hollow
Movie · as Clayton Connelly
Fighting Words
Movie · as David Settles
The Da Vinci Treasure
Movie · as Michael Archer
Psych
TV · as Camden Driggs · 1 ep
Torchwood
TV · as The Gentleman · 1 ep
Glass Trap
Movie · as Curtis
H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds
Movie · as George Herbert
The Poseidon Adventure
Movie · as Doctor Ballard
Ordinary Miracles
Movie · as Jim Powell
Crimson Force
Movie · as Capt. Baskin
The Keeper: The Legend of Omar Khayyam
Movie · as Coach Fielding
The Lost Angel
Movie · as Kuratha
Staying Gold: A Look Back at 'The Outsiders'
Movie · as Self
Criminal Minds
TV · as The Reaper / George Foyet · 7 eps
Hidalgo
Movie · as Preston Webb
A Killer Within
Movie · as Addison Terrill
The Hillside Strangler
Movie · as Kenneth Bianchi
Nursie
Movie · as Zack
Zolar
Movie · as Hedion
Summerland
TV · as Kyle Bale · 2 eps
Net Games
Movie · as Adam Vance
The Hitcher II: I've Been Waiting
Movie · as Jim Halsey
Gods and Generals
Movie · as Sgt. Thomas Chamberlain
The Hitcher: How Do These Movies Get Made?
Movie
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
TV · as Self · 1 ep
Killer Bees
Movie · as Sheriff Lyndon Harris
WillFull
Movie · as Nat Wolff
Night of the Wolf
Movie · as Sheriff Wade Messer
Lawless: Dead Evidence
Movie · as Dean Riley
Askari
Movie · as Joss Mckinley
Asylum Days
Movie · as Nathan Devine
Burning Down the House
Movie · as Concierge
Separate Ways
Movie · as Tom Milton
XCU: Extreme Close Up
Movie · as Geoffrey Liddy
24
TV · as Barry Landes · 2 eps
Hot Boyz
Movie · as Officer Roberts
The Million Dollar Kid
Movie · as Valentino
Son of the Beach
TV · 1 ep
The District
TV · as Chris Gunner · 1 ep
Fatal Affair
Movie · as Malcolm 'Mack' Maddox
Escape from Alaska
Movie · as Jack
Hitman's Run
Movie · as Tom Holly
The Prince and the Surfer
Movie · as Dean
Red Team
Movie · as J.B. Gaines
Cybermaster: Shepherd II
Movie · as Dakota
Enemy Action
Movie · as John Reed
The Glass Jar
Movie · as Lanois
Twice in a Lifetime
TV · as Tony Tremaine / Phil Barlow · 1 ep
Amazon
TV · as Dr. Alex Kennedy · 22 eps
The Shepherd
Movie · as Boris Dakota
Charades
Movie · as Evan
Sealed with a Kiss
Movie · as Detective Mick Cullen
Matter of Trust
Movie · as Michael D'Angelo
V.I.P.
TV · as Phil Sherman · 1 ep
Sleeping Dogs
Movie · as Sanchez Boon
Last Lives
Movie · as Aaron
Dilemma
Movie · as Thomas 'Quin' Quinlan
Dead Fire
Movie · as Tucker
Hourglass
Movie · as Michael Jardine
Laws of Deception
Movie · as Evan Marino
The Big Fall
Movie · as Blaise Rybeck
The Sweeper
Movie · as Mark Goddard
Pure Danger
Movie · as Johnie Dean
Baby Face Nelson
Movie · as Baby Face Nelson
Kindred: The Embraced
TV · as Det. Frank Kohanek · 8 eps
Payback
Movie · as Oscar Bonsetter
Suspect Device
Movie · as Dan Jericho
Mad Dogs and Englishmen
Movie · as Mike
Dangerous Indiscretion
Movie · as Jim Lomax
The Outer Limits
TV · as Capt. Miles Davidow · 1 ep
Teresa's Tattoo
Movie · as Carl
Natural Selection
Movie · as Ben Braden / Alex Connelly
ER
TV · as Vincent Jansen · 1 ep
Acting on Impulse
Movie · as Paul Stevens
Treacherous
Movie · as Micky Stewert
Jailbait
Movie · as Sergeant Lee Teffler
Tattle Tale
Movie · as Bernard Sprat
Gettysburg
Movie · as Lieut. Thomas D. Chamberlain
That Night
Movie · as Rick
Breaking the Rules
Movie · as Gene Michaels
Nickel & Dime
Movie · as Jack Stone
To Protect and Serve
Movie · as Egan
Michael Jackson's Black or White
Movie · as Special appearence
Far Out Man
Movie · as C. Thomas Howell
Side Out
Movie · as Monroe Clark
Kid
Movie · as Kid
Curiosity Kills
Movie · as Cat Thomas
The Return of the Musketeers
Movie · as Raoul
The Eyes of the Panther
Movie · as Jenner Brading
Nightmare Classics
TV · as Jenner Brading · 4 eps
A Tiger's Tale
Movie · as Bubber Drumm
Young Toscanini
Movie · as Arturo Toscanini
Into the Homeland
Movie · as Tripp Wilson
Soul Man
Movie · as Mark Watson
The Hitcher
Movie · as Jim Halsey
Secret Admirer
Movie · as Michael Ryan
Moonlighting
TV · as Waiter (uncredited) · 1 ep
Red Dawn
Movie · as Robert
Tank
Movie · as Billy
Grandview, U.S.A.
Movie · as Tim Pearson
The Outsiders
Movie · as Ponyboy Curtis
The Hitchhiker
TV · as Gerald · 1 ep
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
Movie · as Tyler