C. Thomas Howell
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.
209 acting credits · 7 directing credits
Acting · 209
Criminal Minds
2005
The Blacklist
2013
The Walking Dead
2010
Castle
2009
24
2001
Hawaii Five-0
2010
Blue Bloods
2010
Marvel's The Punisher
2017
Grimm
2011
Psych
2006
ER
1994
Sons of Anarchy
2008
Bosch
2015
SEAL Team
2017
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
2003
MacGyver
2016
Will Trent
2023
Longmire
2012
1923
2022
The Terror
2018
V.I.P.
1998
The Outer Limits
1995
Sleepy Hollow
2013
Moonlighting
1985
The District
2000
Torchwood
2006
The Amazing Spider-Man
2012
Celebrity Ghost Stories
2009
The Glades
2010
Southland
2009
The Hitchhiker
1983
Creepshow
2019
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
1982
Twice in a Lifetime
1999
Obliterated
2023
Alphas
2011
Revolution
2012
Stitchers
2015
Son of the Beach
2000
Summerland
2004
The Outsiders
1983
The Good Cop
2018
American Pie Presents: The Book of Love
2009
One Mile: Chapter One
2026
Kindred: The Embraced
1996
Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox
2013
The Hitcher
1986
Red Dawn
1984
Gettysburg
1993
Ties That Bind
2015
One Mile: Chapter Two
2026
Hidalgo
2004
Amazon
1999
Old Dads
2023
Reagan
2024
Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay
2018
Secret Admirer
1985
Nightmare Classics
1989
Justice League: Gods and Monsters
2015
Gods and Generals
2003
The Poseidon Adventure
2005
Soul Man
1986
Woodlawn
2015
Lawless: Dead Evidence
2001
The Return of the Musketeers
1989
Celebracadabra
2008
Tank
1984
That Night
1992
The Hitcher II: I've Been Waiting
2003
LBJ
2017
A Question of Faith
2017
Toxic
2008
Hot Boyz
2000
Cross
2011
I Am Patrick Swayze
2019
Side Out
1990
Payback
1995
Grandview, U.S.A.
1984
A Killer Within
2004
Rivers 9
2015
H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds
2005
The Terror Experiment
2010
Dead Fire
1997
Teresa's Tattoo
1994
The Land That Time Forgot
2009
Deadman Standing
2018
Camel Spiders
2011
Category 5
2014
Wedding Day
2012
Staying Gold: A Look Back at 'The Outsiders'
2005
War of the Worlds 2: The Next Wave
2008
Storm Rider
2013
Big Game
2008
The Hillside Strangler
2004
The Big Fall
1997
Rescuing Madison
2014
Kid
1990
Pure Danger
1996
Ride
2024
Attack of the Killer Donuts
2016
The Keeper: The Legend of Omar Khayyam
2005
The Million Dollar Kid
2000
Into the Homeland
1987
Dilemma
1997
Jailbait
1993
Hitman's Run
1999
The Day the Earth Stopped
2008
Hoboken Hollow
2006
MoniKa
2012
Dauntless: The Battle of Midway
2019
An Amish Murder
2013
Young Toscanini
1988
Crimson Force
2005
Killer Bees
2002
Beast Mode
2020
The Sweeper
1996
Ordinary Miracles
2005
Urban Country
2018
Spirit Riders
2015
A Gunfighter's Pledge
2008
Enemy Action
1999
Glass Trap
2005
The Thirst: Blood War
2008
Disconnected
2017
Far Out Man
1990
Shifting Gears
2018
The Prince and the Surfer
1999
Treacherous
1993
Restitution
2011
Askari
2001
Lazarus Rising
2015
Burning Down the House
2001
Home Invasion
2012
XCU: Extreme Close Up
2001
Acting on Impulse
1993
Sleeping Dogs
1997
Net Games
2003
The Grind
2009
Zolar
2004
Where the Wind Blows
2025
Dreadtown: The Steel Pulse Story
—
Natural Selection
1994
Dangerous Indiscretion
1995
Mutant Vampire Zombies from the 'Hood!
2010
Fighting Words
2006
Nickel & Dime
1992
Christmas Belle
2013
The 'E.T.' Journals
2012
Suspect Device
1995
Matter of Trust
1998
Escape from Alaska
1999
A Magic Christmas
2014
Rich Boy, Rich Girl
2018
Confessions of a Womanizer
2014
Red Team
1999
Curiosity Kills
1990
My B.F.F.
2016
The Da Vinci Treasure
2006
The Shepherd
1998
Hourglass
1997
Lost on Purpose
2013
Bigfoot Wars
2014
A Christmas Eve Miracle
2015
Tattle Tale
1993
Advance & Retreat
2016
The Eyes of the Panther
1989
Mad Dogs and Englishmen
1995
The Wrong Path
2021
The Lost Angel
2005
A Tiger's Tale
1988
Baby Face Nelson
1996
Cold Ones
2007
House of Fallen
2008
The Haunting of Marsten Manor
2007
The Rack Pack
2018
Asylum Days
2001
Laws of Deception
1997
WillFull
2002
Dirty Dealing
2018
Charades
1998
Chilly Christmas
2012
The Shadow People
2017
Don't Pass Me By
2013
Night of the Wolf
2002
Escape
2012
Magic Hour
2015
The Hitcher: How Do These Movies Get Made?
2003
Sealed with a Kiss
1998
Fatal Affair
1999
Borrowed Moments
2015
Because We're Family
2022
Mac Daddy's Vegas Adventure
2017
Cupid's Arrow
2010
The Open Door
2024
Nursie
2004
Last Lives
1997
Secret at Arrow Lake
2009
To Protect and Serve
1992
Xenophobia
2008
The Jailhouse
2009
Blood Lust
2016
Crimson Point
2022
Cybermaster: Shepherd II
1999
The Greatest Actress in the World
—
Control
2019
Separate Ways
2001
Breaking the Rules
1992
Detroit Under S.T.R.E.S.S.
2018
Fruits De Mer
2014
